Space Between
by Kayl Muses
Summary: Mal is having trouble feeling split between her Isle self and her Auradon self. This story explores her relationship with Ben more intimately. While discovering each other can have growing pains, ultimately it will help them discover who they are and who they can be together.
1. EnchantedLakeParty

School was finally out for the summer and the teenagers of Auradon Prep decided to kick off the summer with a party at the enchanted lake. Organized by Chad and Audrey meant everybody was in for some good clean fun in retro bathing suits with picnic desserts and pop music. Not exactly what Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos were used to or, if Mal was honest, what they considered a wild time. But they all agreed it was really nice to experience what the happy kids of Auradon did for fun.

Although it didn't really matter to Mal what they did for fun as long as she got to spend that time with Ben. Mal rolled her eyes at herself. When did she become this cheesy person, having thoughts like that.

"What? This is my favorite pair of swim trunks don't make fun," Ben nudged Mal. He assumed her eye roll was in reference to the tiny crown shorts he loved to sport.

"Cheesy," Mal laughed as she made a beeline for the food table after eyeing the huge bowl of chocolate covered strawberries. Ben followed up behind Mal and gently grabbed her waist as she started to dig into her favorite treat.

"I made sure we had them for you"

"Fank fou," She smiled through a mouthful of food.

Mal watched Evie holding hands with Doug and giggling. She saw Carlos playing with his dog in the shallows. Her family. Happy and enjoying their new lives. She sighed, contented.

"This party is a bit of a snore no Mal?" Jay joked strolling up next to them. "But I know how to get it started." Jay held up a giant cooler on his shoulder. He threw it down triumphantly drawing a lot of attention from nearby partygoers, including Evie, Doug, and Carlos.

"Yes please," Evie scooped up a beer not missing a beat and handed it to Doug. His eyes widened but he quickly shook the look and took it. Taking the quickest swig. Mal snickered, he looked as if he had swallowed sour milk.

Audrey stomped over, sensing some fun to be ruined. "Absolutely not! There will be no drinking at this party. This isn't the trashy Isle. We are respectable young people. Ben I can't believe you would let them corrupt you like this."

Chad was at Audrey's side, "Sweetums lighten up. There's not enough there to cause that much damage."

Everyone was flabbergasted at Chad's outburst. Audrey was absolutely not having it, "We're done Chad." She stormed out. Chad ran after her begging her to reconsider.

"Awkward, now I really need a drink," Jay broke the silence reaching down, "Ben you want one?"

"Aw no I'm okay," Ben tried to smile casually. Mal was already halfway bent down to grab one for herself when she heard Ben's answer. She awkwardly switched gears to take off her shoes.

"Oh no Mal please feel free to have one," She wasn't fooling Ben. He didn't mean to call her out in front of everyone. He was just panicked that she would be denying herself on his behalf.

Mal smiled up at him, "I'm okay."

Ben desperately wanted to erase the uncomfortable moment. He offered his hand to help her up. "Come on let's enjoy the water."

Mal also desperately wanted to erase the moment so she followed him over to the lake. She thought they would just be sitting on the edge, enjoying the music and splashing their feet in but Ben seemed to have a different idea as they reached the edge of the water. He lifted his shirt up and over his head.

While he was preoccupied with getting ready for a swim Mal caught herself staring at the newly revealed skin. They'd been together about 3 months now and while kissing was very common they'd scarcely had the opportunity for it to go beyond that. People were always watching them and it wasn't exactly a subject they had broached yet. They were still at that stage of trying to hide their desire for each other from each other out of embarrassment or fear of offending the other. And if Mal was honest with herself she was worried. Worried of what he would think of her past. And worried of what his was. She didn't want anything to ruin this. And because of that she felt like she was walking on eggshells sometimes.

"Come on Mal," Ben shook her out of her trance extending his hand. "I'm going to teach you to swim."

Mal burst out a laugh, "Absolutely not."

Ben advanced on her and she tried to hide her breath catching, "You have to learn how to swim, it's fun!"

"On second thought. I'm not doing this without a drink," She walked over to grab a drink quick and spelled it open with her back turned. Then she set her dress down by the rest of her stuff. Ben looked away as she pulled the dress over her head. Years and years of polite and regal discipline training coming in handy.

Evie had made Mal a cute purple halter bikini made out of spandex leather. A signature fabric for Evie's creations. Her and Evie were the only girls in bikinis. Just further solidifying the obvious difference between the isle girls and the ladies of Auradon. Evie rocked hers with confidence as always. But Mal always seemed to internally let the small differences bother her more than she let on on the outside.

Ben helped Mal into the water up to their knees. "We're going to learn how to keep yourself afloat first. I promise I won't let anything happen to you, trust me." He held onto her arms as they started to wade deeper. Mal could feel her panic rising but she tried to plaster a brave face on. Once the lake floor slipped out from under her her legs started to kick wildly and panic was evident in her face. Lightning fast Ben switched his grip on her to grab her waist and secure her against him.

"It's okay it's okay. You got this I won't let you go under until you're ready." Mal's breathing calmed down now that Ben was holding her tight. She gently started to kick her legs back and forth to keep herself afloat. "There you go! You're getting the hang of it. Can I let go?"

She shook her head and he slowly started to give her some space. She mimicked his arm motions and started to giggle in shock. "I'm doing it!"

Ben found her laughter infectious. He hadn't felt this free or like he could be his own age since his coronation. "I'll race you to that rock!" And Mal took off. A little awkwardly but she definitely had the hang of it. Ben felt empowered by her confidence and started to chase her over to the rock on the far end of the lake.

Mal managed to make it there just a stroke ahead of Ben with her head start and she stood in the chest deep water hand on the rock triumphantly. "Ha!" She stuck her tongue out at him. Ben splashed her lightly in response. Her eyes widened and she gasped. After a beat she splashed him right back. They went on like this playing in the water not a care in the world amongst their classmates.

Ben gently held Mal's back so he could pull her towards him for a kiss, "Truce?" Trying his very best not to notice how different this familiar move felt on bare skin. Mal let him pull her to him and get really close then gave him one last splash. But before he could retaliate, she took advantage of the shock and kissed him. Her hands framed his face and she let herself melt into the kiss like they were the only two people in the world. Again in a familiar move his grip on her hips tighten. And again he forgot about the bare skin factor. He pulled back and kept his eyes closed trying his best to not let the heat flushing over his body progress. He was so practiced at composure it only took a second for him to open his eyes and plaster his regular smile back on his face.

"How do you feel about trying to go underwater?" Ben had a plan.

Mal smirked, exuding confidence. "Not a problem!"

They tested it out with Ben instruction how to breath out her nose and hold her breath. Once she felt comfortable he beckoned her to follow him. They were already hidden beyond the rocks out of sight. Ben led them up to a huge rock front. Mal looked at him confused as she moved her arms to keep herself afloat.

"Do you trust me?" He looked back at her. She had no idea what he was talking about but she nodded anyway.

"Follow me," he told her with a smile before disappearing under the water. There was no way following him would have been possible on the Isle. The minimal water they had was way too murky and filled with dangerous creatures for swimming. But the lake water was crystal clear and easy to see underwater. When she followed him under she saw that Ben was leading her under the rock.

Then came up on the other side of the rock in a cave. Not just any cave but one with the crystal wishing rocks Ben had given her on their first date covering the walls. They pulled themselves up onto the rock inside to admire the beautiful site.

Mal was taking it all in, staring in wonder. Ben could only watch her reaction. It was his absolute favorite thing in the world to see her surprised or happy or laughing. She was so expressive it took Ben's breath away.

Mal couldn't believe he was showing her this magical secret place. She didn't even feel worthy of it. But she was more than grateful. She turned back to face him, staring at her with that dopey smile of his.

It was then it dawned on her that they were alone. Really truly alone. Anyone seeing Ben's expression for even a split second would know that getting Mal alone was the farthest thing from Ben's mind as he brought her here. The thought only crossed his mind as he watched the way her hips swayed slightly walking towards him.

He gulped and looked down. He had actually been hoping to distract himself from their earlier kiss in the lake by showing her this. It hadn't occurred to him that this would mean they would be really truly alone. Ben resolved to impress upon Mal with his actions that that was not his intent.

Mal had other plans. She wasn't exactly confident enough to full on initiate anything. But appreciating his form and his sweetness definitely had her flushed and more forward than she normally would be.

Mal came face to face with Ben and suddenly felt more shy. "Hi." She looked up at him through her long lashes.

"Hey," Ben stared at her lovingly and brushed her hair back away from her face. He then leaned in with the intention of giving her a quick peck to show her that was not why he brought he here. But that was all Mal needed to start sensually moving her lips against his and licking his lip to let her in. You could hear all the breath escape through Ben's nose and his hands balled up at his sides not knowing what he should do. In a split second he decided holding her safely would be far less awkward then just standing there like a dope.

Ben holding Mal was all the permission she needed to gently lean her body against his. For Mal that contact was her undoing. Familiar feelings started to ignite, flames licking up just underneath her skin throughout her entire body. She ran her finger through his tousled brown hair.

Mal's actions both made Ben feel empowered to lean into the feeling of being able to kiss her without eyes on them, but also gave him a healthy dose of fear and anxiety. He feared letting go of his self control even a bit. He didn't want to push her and was feeling a similar way Mal was without knowing. What would venturing into this new territory do to their relationship?

Mal's entire body felt on fire. Her brain was all fogged up. She hadn't realized how much being in the public eye had her wound so tight. Finally being able to be here with her boyfriend alone, just being 17 and enjoying each other, she hadn't realized how much she needed this and she didn't feel as scared and nervous as she had been before. Those feelings were still there, but they were definitely minimized in this state.

Ben on the other hand was in complete conflict with himself. He was trying his best to contain himself. He was enjoying making out with her way too much. Her lips and tongue were so soft. He was trying and failing to not notice how her bikini covered breast were pushing up against his bare chest. How the skin of her hips felt under his hands. He felt like fire but he wanted to remain a gentleman. He pulled back and they both took a moment to catch their breath without letting go of each other.

Ben opened and closed his mouth a couple times trying to find the right words to open up communication about this. He finally settled on, "Hey, are you okay with this? I just want to let you know as amazing as it is to be able to hold you without a thousand cameras on us, it wasn't my intention when I wanted to share this secret spot with you."

Mal felt anxiety burst her bubble. She hated vulnerability. She didn't want to open up about this. She just wanted to keep kissing Ben and feeling his hands holding her to him.

She ducked her head down, "yeah I'm okay."

Ben wasn't satisfied with the answer and felt confused. He used his finger to gently tilt her chin up to look at him. Mal knew that wouldn't be an acceptable answer and she just wanted to keep kissing him.

"I'm more than okay. This is beautiful thank you for sharing it with me. I'm just happy to be able to enjoy time with you without what feels like everybody in the world on top of us." Mal felt good about that answer. She had opened up without having to discuss their physical relationship at all.

The notion warmed Ben's heart. And he didn't have time to dwell on the fact that he hadn't been able to talk to her about what he really wanted, which was how they felt about venturing into a more physical relationship together. Mal didn't give him a chance to think about how she had evaded his question because she was kissing him again. And all thought fled his brain.

Knowing she was okay with this and having this been the second time she initiated making out Ben was able to relax a bit more. His grip on her hips tightened. Mal leaned her body more deliberately against him. Thankfully for Ben his handle on her hips was able to keep their lower halves at a safe distance. Their tongues starting to battle each other. Mal allowed her hands to move from his hair down to explore his back and shoulders, finding his biceps as an anchor for her. They both felt like pure fire trying to battle their inner beasts at bay. All they saw was fog behind their eyelids.

A extremely loud horn broke them apart in panic. They evaluated quickly they hadn't been caught. It was coming from outside the cave and it was like a siren, unending.


	2. Responsibility

"Son you have to think about every decision you make from here on out. We cannot press upon you enough the seriousness of this situation." Ben stood in his family living room being lectured by his parents. While him and Mal had not been caught at the party. His parents knew immediately he had been there when he tried to sneak back in with wet hair and swim trunks on.

Belle continued, "You are so lucky you weren't amongst the kids caught with alcohol. They are all facing discipline. But for you the stakes are so much higher. You're the king. You are expected to behave in such a manner. Be someone the people look up to and can rely on no matter what. The media is all over your every move you have to be more careful."

Ben felt stressed, frustrated, and ashamed. He knew he had to conduct himself in such a way. He had heard this, been trained for it, his entire life. And he loved being king. He loved being given the opportunity to better the lives of the whole kingdom. To do his best to make everyone happy and safe. But times like these he just felt incredibly burdened. Ben just wanted to be able to breathe and be a teenager sometimes.

"I understand mother, I'm sorry." Ben looked down.

Belle's face softened and she walked up to embrace her son. "I understand how difficult this transition is on you. And the burden of the public eye I really do. You're so young and it's not fair you aren't able to just be a teenager. But this is the cross our family bears. It's bigger than all of us Ben."

"I know mom I know." He hugged her back.

"Alright then son. Go shower and get packing. We have to be ready to leave for Ariel and Eric's castle tomorrow at 6am sharp to kick off the tour of the kingdom." Ben nodded and off he went.

Mal let the hot water pour all over her in the shower as she calmed down from the day's excitement. She tried her best not to dwell too long on anything that had happened. When she stepped out of the shower she found Evie had returned.

"Evie I'm so sorry I ran off. Are you okay?" Mal asked her best friend.

Evie sat down on her bed and let out a deep breath. "I'm okay. We got really lucky that Jay was able to hide the cooler when Fairy Godmother came storming through with her blow horn. But where did you go?"

"Ben and I were swimming on the far end of the lake when it happened and were able to sneak away." Mal tried.

Evie smirked, there was no fooling her. "Um no you were missing before that."

Mal blushed in shock, all the way up to her hairline, and tried to look away.

Evie gasped at her. "Did you sneak off to hook up?!"

Mal stuttered trying to answer. She never felt comfortable talking about this kind of stuff. "No we didn't. Ben wanted to show me this secret cave with all these crystals."

Evie let out an easy laugh. "Then why are you blushing and being so weird about it? For a VK you can really be a terrible liar."

"Evie I just really don't want to talk about it." Mal admitted.

Evie softened her assault, "Then I'll talk. I'm happy for you that you're so happy. It's okay to enjoy it and not feel guilty. I know you Mal. This is special to you. You don't have to talk to me about it but I do hope you're talking to him about it."

"Evie I can't. How can I possibly tell him my past without him being faced with the real reality of me being an Isle kid and all our differences. They don't act like we do here."

Evie hugged her friend, "Mal, Ben loves you. He doesn't care about any of that stuff."

"He only said that because I spelled him! How do I know that's really how he feels?!" Mal started sniffling. Evie was the only person allowed to see Mal cry.

"Mal I can't tell you that. But we can all see it. The way he looks at you and attends to you."

There was a knock on the bedroom door and Mal rushed to the bathroom to hide.

Evie got up to find Ben at the other side.

"Hi Evie. I just came to check up on Mal and make sure we was all packed and ready for tomorrow."

"She hopped in the shower at the moment but I'll relay the message." Ben looked disappointed.

"Okay thank you, 6am the limo is leaving."

"Got it," Evie gently closed the door on him and, after a moment's hesitation, heard his footsteps walking away.

Mal cracked the bathroom door open, checking that the coast was clear.


	3. TheLine

Mal was getting settled into one of the guest rooms at Ariel and Eric's castle after a long day of traveling when she heard the door creak open slowly. She went into defensive mode and grabbed a lamp off the bedside table ready to pounce. But it was just Ben.

"Jeez you scared me! What're you doing sneaking in here like that?!"

Ben winced at his girlfriend's vocal levels as he tried to quietly close the door. "I was trying to be discrete."

Mal mouthed an "oh" and gently placed the lamp back down. Ben crossed the room, hands stuffed in his pockets. He was wearing blue flannel pajama pants and a yellow cotton t-shirt. Mal had yet to change out of her travel clothes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were feeling okay?" Ben, always wanting to talk about feelings. Mal felt frustrated, why couldn't he just leave it all alone. Stop rocking the boat.

"Ben seriously I'm fine." Mal said with an edge in her tone. Ben was taken by surprised that she would snap at him and it irritated him. All he was trying to do was be there for her and help her. He had to take a beat and remind himself that she was not accustomed to being taken care of and it would take them some time for her to allow it.

"Okay you're fine then," Ben shrugged and lifted his arm up to scratch the back of his head. And just like that Mal's emotions flipped a switch. There it was again. Ben innocently doing something completely unaware of how it lifted his shirt up at the waist and revealed the hard planes of where his stomach disappeared into his sleep pants.

Mal could feel her eyes starting to glow from the assault on her senses.

Ben's whole body tensed in alarm. He reached out reflexively and then halted in mid air, thinking better of it. "Mal your eyes," he refrained from adding 'are you okay'.

Mal closed her eyes and turned around trying to calm down her emotions. She turned back to face him. "Ben I'm so sorry my emotions have been all over the place lately."

Sending the tension gone, Ben is quick to embrace her and sits them down on the suite couch.

Mal just starts laughing out of nowhere. "See what I mean. I'm absolutely losing my mind."

"You're just under a lot of pressure and stress. Trust me I get it. This world can be super overwhelmed sometimes. Let me help you relax."

Ben starts to rub her shoulders.

Mal seriously doubts Ben realizes how arousing he can be when he does things like this. She knows for sure there is no way he is doing it on purpose. His naivety to his own effects is so endearing. Mal leans her head back to rest on his shoulder behind her. He reduces her to a melted puddle. When Ben feels she is sufficiently de-stressed he wraps his arms around her and rests his chin in her hair. He feels so contented being this close to her, just the two of them. Both a similar and different feeling from how he felt in the cave.

Mal tilts her head to the side and gives his neck a kiss. Ben has a sharp intake of breath not expecting it. It's unclear who starts it but suddenly they are kissing. It's different from the cave though, just as heated but much slower. A discovering of each other.

Mal's neck starts to hurt from craning so she turns herself around so they're face to face. She doesn't quite have the courage to sit in his lap. So she kneels on the couch facing him and he gets up to do the same.

Their lips are back at it again now that they're on the same level and his hands are lost in her hair. Her hands started resting on his chest but are quickly balling up in his t-shirt as the kiss intensifies. Ben can feel himself starting to get hard and he breaks off the kiss. There's nowhere to hide it in the thin material of his sleep pants. They both maintain their grips on each other and try to catch their breath.

"Why did you stop?" Mal manages to breath out.

"I just want to make sure you're okay with this. I just want you to feel comfortable and not pressured."

"Ben," Mal pauses, her eyes narrow on his and she's double checking he's really paying attention and focused on her. "Stop thinking so much just kiss me. Trust me I'll tell you if you step out of line."

Ben has an incredible amount of self control for a 17 year old. But he's still a teenage boy and Mal clearly is fine with what they're doing. The kiss heats up again. Mal let her body heat up to the point that every inch of skin tingles. She yearns for Ben to touch her somewhere, anywhere, more intimately.

Ben leaves one hand tangled in her purple locks and lets the other drop down to rub her side up and down. His thumb grazes the side of her breast and an audible gasp escapes her lips. This time he had purposefully done it. Testing the waters of what she was okay with. Her reaction told him all he needed to know.

Her arms crossed tighter around the back of Ben's neck. Like she was trying to hold herself steady. Like the cave she pressed her whole body against his as much as she could in their kneeling position. But unlike the cave, their lower halves pressed against each other's for the first time. But they were both too far gone to let the enormity of it stop them. Both of Ben's hands came down to grip her hips, this time he was trying to steady himself. Even through all their layers of clothes having her crotch pressed against his was overwhelming. He didn't push her away. He wanted this and it was clear she wasn't put off by feeling his erection against her.

Ben broke off their kiss with a groan but quickly moved his lips down to kiss her neck. One hand moving slowly up her body. He let the back of his fingertips graze her stomach so she could stop him. Then he gently cupped her breast letting his thumb move back and forth over her nipple. Her back arched slightly into his touch and Mal was breathing heavy. Ben felt so smug with the fact that not only was she not put off by them taking this step but she was allowing herself to enjoy it.

Mal ran her hands down Ben's chest. Enjoying the feelings he was giving her and exploring the planes of his muscular chest and stomach. She didn't realize how her lower half was feeling starved for attention until it involuntarily rocked against Ben's hard length.

If Mal running her hands all over his chest and being able to palm her beautiful perfect breast wasn't enough to send him toppling, then her rocking against his hard on definitely was. Literally! He toppled backwards having completely lost his ground. As he was falling he instinctively made sure to grab Mal's hips so she didn't get hurt falling on top of him.

Then ended up in a tangled uncomfortable position laying on the couch and both started to laugh uncontrollably. Ben shifted to get Mal more comfortable and held her hand to his heart as they calmed down.

Neither of them seemed to be all too bothered the mood had seemed to simmer down. "I'm sorry your body is just too overwhelming."

Ben always seemed to be able to have a smug confidence about things despite being so cautious. Mal could only describe it as controlled strength. And she dreamed of someday allowing it to make her feel safe. Not a feeling she had really ever experienced before.

Ben her hand and squeeze and kissed the top of her head. He sighed contented. They had crossed the line ever so slightly and everything was fine.


	4. Anguish

Ben could not get the memory of how Mal's breast felt in his hands out of his head when he awoke the next morning. He couldn't concentrate on anything. Nor could he remove the dopey smile from his face. His worries about them taking this step seemed ridiculous now.

It was time to get up and ready for the day. He got in his suite's shower and let the hot water beat down his back. He thought it might jar him out of his daze but he just couldn't stop thinking about last night. The longer he was awake the more intense the feelings got. He closed his eyes trying to focus on the day at hand. This was the beginning of his tour of the kingdom as king. He had an enormous responsibility. He wanted to make strong first impressions as a responsible and mature leader despite his age. Flash- the way Mal's hips felt under his hands when she was in that sexy bikini at the lake party. He groan loudly, why was he so unable to control himself around her. She wasn't even here and he felt wild.

His morning wood was demanding attention so he decided to just give in and indulge. If he was a tad late that surely had to be better than being a horny distracted 17 year old all day. Definitely not the impression he was hoping to make.

The first stroke affected him more than he was used to and he had to brace himself with his other hand against the shower wall. He had real memories of Mal now to consume him. They were much more powerful than the fantasy. Ben thought about the lake party. He could see flashes of all that beautiful milky skin behind his closed eyes. The way her hips swayed back and forth walking towards him in the cave.

His fist pumped faster when last night's memories assaulted him. Deep moans start to accompany his heavy breath. The way she assertively told him to stop thinking so much and take action. How her breast felt, even over the clothes, in his hand. He could just barely feel the way her nipple had hardened under his touched. How she leaned into his touched and rocked against him. Completely unafraid.

That's when his thoughts shifted and he felt as if icicles were stabbing his heart in every direction. But he was too far gone to stop. The creeping thought that maybe she was unafraid because this wasn't new territory for her. Mal had told him back on their first date that they don't date on the isle. But that didn't mean she hadn't been physical with someone. He couldn't help it as he surged towards finishing beastly jealous rage engulfed him. As he came one word escaped his lips in a heavy groan 'mine'.

When his breathing slowed down he was shocked with himself. Ben didn't think he'd ever felt this way. Ashamed of himself and acting so completely out of character. He knew he had to act fast so he quickly finished up his shower and got dressed fast as he could.

All the while still thinking about what had just happened internally for him. He knew without a doubt that he loved Mal. And it was completely wrong of him to assume her past without talking to her. He buttoned up his shirt as he thought. Even if she did have a past it would be completely unfair of him to be upset about it. So did he. They were nearly 18.

Ben felt deeply ashamed. Nothing could ever change the way he felt about her. He had just had a moment. He rationalized with himself. He was worked up and let the beast out. Whether she had a blank past or not would never ever change the way he felt about her. He let himself get caught up in his emotions and that was all. Ben was just thankful it had been a private moment and he could move past it. He would never want to hurt Mal like that.

Ben felt back to his normal self by the time he reached the luncheon. His parents and Mal were waiting for him outside so they could all walk in together. "I hope I'm not late."

"No dear just on time." His mother gave him a kiss on the cheek in greeting.

"Shall we?" Ben took the initiative wanting to step up as the leader of the family and lead them into the luncheon. He made sure Mal felt safe and secure on his arm. Ben knew this new spotlight was overwhelming her. He could feel Mal squeezing his arm when she saw how many people were there. Ben squeezed back, silently telling her it was okay.

When they all sat down for lunch Mal was in full on panic mode. She was completely overwhelmed. She didn't feel she was dressed right. Her bright purple hair stood out like a sore thumb amongst all these prim and pressed royals.

The only person who didn't make her feel utterly out of place was Princess Melody, who had walked in late. She had tried to sneak in. Mal noticed she had clearly just put her shoes on outside the door because she was still stepping into the heals on her walk in. Her black hair looked shiny until Mal realized it was still wet. She looked put together like everyone else but the small details Mal noticed read wild child. And Mal would know.

She thought she might like this girl. That is until she sat down for lunch across from Ben and started chattering away like old friends. Mal felt sharp pains in her chest. Here was a girl who was a proper royal. But she wasn't like Audrey she was fun and had an easy laugh, bit of a adventurous side if anyone paid any attention. She was the kind of girl Ben really should be with.

Ben kept trying to include Mal in the conversation but she just couldn't relate. She didn't grow up like they did. Mal didn't go to summer homes. She didn't have vacations. She didn't have fancy events to look nice and stuff her face. Mal had a ratty hideaway and barely enough food to eat sometimes. It was all so foreign to her.

If that wasn't bad enough dinner was a disaster. Ariel and Eric chose right as the meal started to ask her questions trying to get to know her. It was intended as a kind gesture but that meant all eyes at the table on her. And she didn't know what fork to use. Why were there so many forks!

If it wasn't embarrassing enough to have no answers or no appropriate answers to their questions there were cameras everywhere filming the whole thing. She was a complete and utter stuttering disaster.

When the whole thing was over and Mal was finally able to escape she rushed to the privacy of her room to cry. Ben tried to follow her but she refused to allow him to see her so weak. He wouldn't leave though. She could hear him slumped against the other side of door just breathing after she refused to let him in. "I'm fine, I just need to sleep it off." She snapped through the door. Then she retreated further into the bathroom so he wouldn't know she was crying.


	5. Changes

Mal felt hardened the next day. She had cried herself to sleep until it felt like there was no water left in her body. She was so so tired on the drive back but couldn't fall asleep, so she pretended.

When Ben noticed her "falling asleep" he pulled her to rest on his chest. She couldn't fight it because then he would know she was awake. Mal felt lucky she had cried so much she didn't have tears left otherwise she would have feared of letting them go right now in front of him and his parents. He gently shook her "awake" when they arrived back home and she pretended to slowly open her eyes.

As they exited the car Belle stopped Mal. "Mal would you like to grab a quick lunch in the sitting room before you go back?" Mal absolutely wanted to be alone but she couldn't refuse Belle. She was silently happy when Ben was whisked away with royal duties and couldn't join them. He could always see right through her.

"I know you must be so tired dear. This is a lot to adjust to so be patient with yourself." The warmth coming from Belle's voice as they sat in the living room with tea Mrs. Potts had made them took Mal aback. Not that she was surprised Belle would be a warm or kind person. The feeling of shock came more from that Belle would take the time to try to help her fit in better. It was again so foreign. Her own mother would never show concern for her like this. Even though it was such a small simple statement, Mal felt a little emotional about it.

Belle sipped her tea, trying to read Mal's expression. But Mal was very good at putting on the brave face. Unlike her son, Belle didn't know Mal well enough to be able to decipher what was underneath it. She plastered a smile on her face, "Let's go over the upcoming tour schedule shall we? I can help give you some pointers about preparing for it."

Mal felt a little hurt that Belle had noticed she needed pointers. It made a touch of anger flare up in her. Then it was gone quicker than it came. "Thank you" Mal's voice came out softly.

Belle studied her quickly, trying not to give the girl the impression she was on trial. "This isn't easy for anyone. I didn't come from royalty at all myself. I was quite the misfit in my town. Assimilating to this world takes practice from all of us."

Belle's words touched Mal. She couldn't express her gratitude because that meant showing vulnerability. But she could show Belle her gratitude with a real smile and giving her her full attention. Mal could feel her heart start to heal as Belle explained the tour schedule and gave her tips on staying organized for it. It struck Mal that while she herself doubted she was the right person for Ben, his own mother was spending her time supporting their relationship. Belle didn't have to show Mal this kindness, but she was. Mal realized this meant a lot.

She left the castle and strolled back to her dorm with a newfound determination. She could do this. She would do this. Ben meant so much to her she wanted to fit in. She wanted to hide her horrid past and be the kind of lady he deserved.

Upon entering her and Evie's room she found it devoid of her best friend. The only noise coming from the room was the TV. It's contended re-souring Mal's mood. It showed footage from the luncheon at Eric and Ariel's castle. Mal's bright hair snd leather dress both sticking out like sore thumbs amounts all the royals. She was clearly blinking and stuttering an absolute disaster. Mal felt distraught again. Emotions bubbling up in her. She whirled around and kicked the nearest object with all her might. It just happened to be a shelf and she sent boxes toppling all over the floor and spilling the contents of them.

"Fuck" Mal cursed under her breath at the mess she had made. She dropped down to start cleaning up from her momentary tantrum. Trying not to let her watered up eyes tear again. When her hand landed on a book she stopped in her tracks. It was her old spell book. Sitting open on the floor, calling to her like a siren.

The minute she touched it pieces of memories from the isle flashed quickly. But to her surprise they weren't bad memories. The feeling she was left with was strength and confidence. She was fearsome. Why was she letting a bunch of prissy stiffs make her feel badly. She was stronger than any of them could be.

Mal looked back up at the TV and an idea sparked. She quickly flipped through the book until she found the spell she desired. A couple quick swishes of her finger and it was done.

A huge grin spread across Mal's face as she felt the magic flow through her. She felt real joy for the first time in a couple days and hopped up lightning fast to take a look at her handiwork.

Once again her heart skipped a beat when she first saw herself in the mirror. She hated it. No more purple locks. White blonde now blended right in with her pasty skin. She felt grossed out at how prissy she looked. She zapped a little lavender onto the ends hoping it would help. It didn't really. But she took a deep breath, and then another. She looked normal. She fit in. She looked like someone fit to be Ben's lady. She could do this.


	6. ShutOutTheWorld

Eyes closed, hand tangled in her hair, Ben was completely lost in Mal's kiss. He loved running his fingers through her hair, it was so soft and he liked how her waves wrapped around his fingers. He pulled back to watch his finger finish its trail down to the end of her tendril. But when Ben opened his eyes confusion rolled through him.

It had been about a week since Mal had changed her hair and Ben was still getting used to it. He didn't want to be the kind of boyfriend who told his girlfriend what he preferred on her. Whatever she wanted to do he supported. But he secretly really missed her purple hair. This new look just didn't look like her. It was going to take a little more getting used to.

"Earth to Ben," Mal chuckled catching him spacing out mid make out.

Ben smiled turning his attention back on her face. "Sorry" he whispered before leaning back in. Ben swiped his tongue asking for entrance which Mal gladly complied. These were the only times during this whirlwind of a royal adjustment that Mal felt totally relaxed. Everything felt so simple. They were just a couple, who enjoyed each other and were discovering each other. Hiding away in Ben's room in his massive castle home. Nobody knew they were there and the door was firmly locked.

Mal desperately wanted to run her hands all over his chest. It's what she dreamed about most nights. He had such nice arms and fit abs. Now that this wasn't brand new territory Mal didn't feel shy about slinging her leg over to straddle Ben's lap as her body heated up from their kisses. This time she was very deliberate about rocking her crotch against his. She pulled back biting her lip seductively at him. Ben wasn't ready for the combination of the sight of her looking so wanton at him and the feeling of her crotch pressing against his. His breath accelerated.

Ben gripped her hips firmly. Mal thought he was going to egg her on in rubbing against his erection but he stilled her hips instead.

"Mal I love this." Ben had prepared vigorously for this moment. He felt confident he knew just the right way to get Mal to communicate about their physical relationship. It was a bit of a risk but if he knew his girl as well as he felt he did, he had to have confidence this approach would work.

Ben pulled her hips firmly against his hard on and gently sucked at the pressure point on her neck. Mal let out the tiniest of moans. Then Ben continued in a strained voice. He hadn't totally taken into account how his methods would effect him as well. "As much as I want, no need, you to keep doing what you're doing with those beautiful hips of yours, I'd really like to talk about it first."

Mal froze at his words but she wasn't running away. With his grip not leaving her hips, Ben stroked her hip bones under her shirt with his thumbs. It was under the guise of soothing her but he could have guessed how it would effect her.

Ben knew he had to do most of the talking and hoped he could make her feel comfortable enough that they could establish some things first. "I need you to tell me what you're ready for and what you aren't physically. And if those things change in the future I need you to tell me that too."

Mal could feel the vulnerability in Ben's voice. He was worried what this would do to them. Worried of pushing her too far too fast. His sweet nature warmed her.

"I'm not good at talking about this. My instinct is I just want to feel it out, not plan it out." Ben nodded, showing his understanding.

Mal continued, "I appreciate you don't want to push me. But like I told you the last time we were in this position. I'll tell you when I need you to slow down."

"I understand that." Ben knew if he didn't say this next bit then Mal would never tell him where they stood. Was this new territory for her? He absolutely didn't feel entitled to her entire past. Ben just needed to know a baseline so he could attempt to figure out how to proceed. "I guess I don't really know what I'm doing because I haven't done anything beyond what we have already done."

Mal was a little taken aback with how honest Ben was being. It shouldn't have been a surprise if she really thought about it that Ben hadn't done very much. He spent his entire life up until 16 with Audrey. And Audrey was, well Audrey. But it both felt like a weight lifted to Mal and also panic inducing.

Ben kept going all the while rubbing her bare hip bones, soothing her. "I don't feel entitled to your past. You can share as little or as much as you want without judgement. I hope you know you can tell me anything. But if you could please just tell me where we stand. I need to know if you want me to take the lead or follow yours if we want to get more intimate."

Mal's breathing was labored, and not from Ben touching her hips. She felt panicked. Backed into a corner. But she also knew she owed Ben an explanation. "I haven't had sex if that's what you're thinking."

Ben tried not to make any reaction of immense relief. He didn't know how it would've effected his heart to know somebody else had been that close to the girl he loves. But he was way more focused on how panicked and defensive she was getting. He had to steer this back in the right direction. "I wasn't assuming anything. I just wanted to know if you want me to take the lead or follow yours. I love you. I only want to enjoy these new experiences with you and take care of you. We will figure it out together."

Ben tried not to throw I love you around that often. He knew Mal wasn't ready to say it back. But in this case he felt desperately like she had to know how he felt and all he wanted for their relationship.

Whatever he had said seemed to have worked because Mal felt calmer. He wanted this too. Mal took a very deep breath and said quietly looking in the other direction, "I've touched a guy before but nobody has ever touched me. That's where my knowledge ends." That's all she would and could say on the truth.

Mal felt tears threaten to fall. 'What would he think of her?' She took a chance look back at Ben and he looked gobsmacked. Her eyes widened in fear and she tried to run away this time. But Ben was quick to secure her hips to him and hold her so she couldn't move.

"Mal please don't run away." There was a desperate edge in his voice that made her falter. "I just can't believe that someone would neglect and not take care of you like that. It makes me so..."

Mal was hanging on his every word now. "So incredibly angry." His voice raised a bit. Mal blinked slowly once, twice, and then she was kissing him with force. Such relief flooded through her. What had she done to deserve someone this compassionate?

Ben was kissing her back with equal force. He was going to take care of her if she let him. He wasn't quite sure how but he was going to feel it out like she said. How dare anyone neglect her like that!

His hand reached between them to cup her breast. He thumbed her nipple until it hardened. Ben breathed into their kiss and spoke with a moan, "I need to take care of you, show me how to make you feel good."

Mal flushed. She was too turned on to be turning pink and full on embarrassed. But she didn't think she was ready to let him just focus on pleasing her. She wasn't ready to lay vulnerable like that. But her body was also itching for release so she continued to rock against his hard on. He gripped her hips, helping in her movements this time. But as she chased her release the friction of his jeans started to hurt and she hissed.

Ben stopped them, "what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Your jeans. They're kinda in the way." Mal was too in lust to be shy about it.

Time seemed to freeze for a second then Ben said, "Do you want me to take them off? Underwear staying on of course." He was quick to add.

"Yes," Mal let out breathily as she shakily climbed off of him.

Ben unbuttoned, unzipped, and then pulled his jeans down and off his feet. Mal could see his dick straining against the material in his boxers. The visual was like an electric pulse to her clit and Ben was quick to grab her and pull them back down onto the couch.

With the harsh material of his jeans out of the way everything was heightened. For both of them. Ben could now feel the warmth of her center straight on his dick regardless of their underwear or her leggings. Only soft and thin material remained covering their intimate parts.

Ben moved his grip from her hips straight to her nipples. She jutted forward bracing her hands on his chest. It felt so good.

The room was filled with Ben's groans every time she forcefully rutted against him. In symphony they could hear Mal's moans every time her clit hit his hardened length just right. Heavy breathing from the both of them stringing the sounds together.

"Ben," Mal moaned roughly as she got closer to the end. Ben thought that was the most amazing thing he had ever heard and how could he get his name to pass her plump lips again? He wanted to taste her so he went to kiss her. She seemed too distracted, barely able to keep the connection of the kiss. Her lips going slack and just moaning into his mouth. Ben moved his lips down her neck. Licking and sucking the beautiful skin there.

The wet kisses on her neck felt like they were sizzling with the fire of her skin. The way Ben was pinching her nipples was like they were directly connected to her clit. Which was being blissfully stimulated by being able to really slide against his dick. Her pleasure built to the max and then burst. Mal came letting out a strained moan and Ben's name tumbling from her lips.

Mal's hips slowed down and suddenly her nipples were too sensitive so she pushed Ben's hands down to her waist. She collapsed back slightly onto her heals and tried to catch her breath, hands still braced on his chest. He just stared at her in wonder. Watching her reach her pleasure was truly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Can I?" Mal trailed her hand down his chest and stopped at his waistband waiting for permission. She was a tad embarrassed with that being the first time anyone had ever seen her cum and didn't want the focus to stay on her.

Ben took her hand in his and lifted it up to kiss it. "You don't have to. I'm just so happy you trusted me with seeing you achieve something so beautiful."

Mal blushed, her Ben always the sweet talker. "I want to."

Ben tried to calm his breathing down and released her hand. Mal climbed off of him to sit next to him.

Mal leaned back in to kiss Ben, trying not to think about how different it felt doing this to someone she really cared about. On the Isle it had been about power. Mal was the leader of the fearsome four. She was lusted after but she didn't really care about anyone. To her it had just been fun being the sexy and powerful leader and she liked having the power over the guy she'd done it to. But she didn't want to have power over Ben, definitely not in the way it had been. She really cared about him and she wanted to give him the gift of what he had just given her. Mal felt guilty having the little experience she did over him. But she had to stop thinking about that. That was the past and her future was Ben.

She pulled back to look at his face. His pupils were dilated and he wore this lazy sexy grin. It struck Mal that, like all the other kids who grew up in Auradon, Ben was fairly innocent. But he also had this inherint confidence and instinct of exactly what to do. She had no idea how he did that. She felt the exact opposite, all the life experience and no confidence she knew what she was doing half the time.

Ben reached up to cup her cheek and run his thumb across it. Bringing her back to him for another kiss. Having no idea she was lost in thought he still had the instinct to bring her back to him.

Mal smirked into the kiss and started to lightly scrape her nails down his chest to his boxers. She made sure to scrape over his nipples, loving hearing his breath catch. His eyes were shut but the minute her nails grazed his abs right above his pants they shot open. He looked down at what she was doing, trying his best to control his breathing. Ben didn't want to come off too desperate for her touch.

She experimentally stroked him over his boxers. Ben's eyes fluttered shut but he quickly snapped them back open, not wanting to miss a second of what she was doing to him. Mal reached in and pulled him out of the flap, gripping him bare for the first time. Ben groaned loudly at the sensation. He wasn't going to last very long. Everything had built up way too much.

Mal didn't wear her usual confidence. She wanted to make sure she was doing exactly what Ben liked and making him feel as good and as cared for as he did for her.

"Ben, show me what you like," Mal began to pump him but looked to him for guidance.

He stared back at her lovingly and in a haze for a second before gently covering her hand with his and showing her the pace he likes. Ben didn't need to instruct for long before Mal took over.

Ben couldn't focus on anything for too long. He gaze darted, watching Mal's concentrated and sly expression of her beautiful full lips. Then focused on how her breast were bouncing lightly with her effort. Looking down he loved watching his dick slide in between her soft small fist. It all felt too good Ben would have to close his eyes. Not wanting to miss a second he would open them and the whole process would start again.

Ben looked so good from head to toe. His hair stuck a little to his forehead. A lazy grin on his face whenever his expression didn't change to a moan. His hands were stroking whatever part of her he could reach, her arms or thighs. His shirt all bunched up to show a peak of his abs. And his nice and hard, yet velvety smooth dick pushing through her fist.

Mal licked her lips at the sight and that's all it took. Ben started to pulse in her hand. She quickly pushed his tshirt up so he would avoid jizzing all over it. Instead it spilled out over her fist and the hard planes of his stomach.

Ben threw his shirt over his head and walked Mal over to the bathroom to clean them both up. His breathing was ragged and he was trying his best to slow it down. He couldn't believe how amazing it felt having her tiny soft yet surprisingly strong hand touching him. Watching him with determination and lust.

When they were both clean he tucked himself back into his boxers and pulled her to his chest in a bear hug. He kissed into her hair. "Thank you."

Mal pulled back to look up at him. "It was good?"

Ben blinked at her and tried to hold back laughter. How could she be such a vixen yet so innocent at the same time? "It was the most amazing experience of my life. I'll never forget it, thank you."

She accepted his hug then. The rest of the world falling away. Troubles trapped outside the door of his suite.


	7. Busted

That's it, Mal was screwed! Why did everything perfect have to be tainted. Mal rushed into her and Evie's suite. She had lunch with Ben and his parents scheduled in an hour and she was not presentable. Ben and her sex haze had been popped like a bubble upon realizing Ben had accidentally given her a big fat purple hickey on her neck. She had no idea how she was going to cover it up before lunch. A scarf would look ridiculous in this summer heat. It was so dark, how would she cover it up? She needed Evie!

Evie's eyes widened seeing Mal rushing in in a panic.

"Evie I need you!" Mal cried at the same time Evie exclaimed "Mal what happen- ahhh!"

Evie saw the spot. She jumped into action grabbing a bunch of makeup and throwing Mal down on the bed.

"Help I have lunch with Ben's parents in an hour," Mal was all worked up and didn't know how to ease the panic. Would Belle still be nice to her if she thought Mal was corrupting her son? More feelings of unworthiness flooded her.

Evie could see Mal's panic building. She had to distract her. "Good on Ben! This is dark, he must have been paying you quite the attention. Didn't know he had it in him." Evie teased.

Only a best friend can know the right thing to say. Just like that, Mal was laughing. "Evie!"

"Tell me about the crime while I cover the evidence. Come on, I need to live vicariously through you for a bit." Evie began to put powder where she had just thrown on some makeup.

"Doug not doing it for you?" Mal teased.

"He's so timid to try anything. I'm going to have to be the one to initiate. But honestly I'm enjoying the innocence of it all right now. I wasted too much time chasing guys because that's what my mom always beat into my head. I'm content just taking it slow for now. But that doesn't mean I don't want to hear all about your escapades miss." Evie prompted.

Mal sighed, giggling nervously. "Ben's just so sweet and attractive he makes me melt. But every time I tried to go further he just wanted to talk about it."

Evie laughed knowingly, "and of course you hate communication."

"Hey! That's not true." Mal knew it was a little true. "I just was worried to tell him about my experiences. What would he think of me?"

Evie stopped to hold Mal's hand. She understood her fears. Mal continued, "But I got backed into a corner. It was tell him or stop making out forever."

Mal and Evie shared a laugh and Evie went back to covering her makeup. "I told him this morning and he was so compassionate about it. Then one thing lead to another."

"That's all I get." Evie feigned offense and Mal blushed. She wasn't sure she could talk about it.

"Alright. I will grill you for details another time. But for now you are covered up. The best I could do. Wear your hair on that side to cover the rest."

"Thank you so much!" Mal hopped up to get dressed and rush back over to the castle for lunch.

When Mal walked into the dinning room of the castle, not only were Ben and his parents there, but also a lot of their castle staff. Lots of hustle and bustle happening.

Ben lit up when Mal walked in and moved to pull out her chair for her to sit with them. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting back down.

"Afternoon Mal, sorry for the chaos." Adam apologized. Mal held back a laugh, they didn't even know what real chaos was if they thought this was chaos.

"We're preparing for cotillion!" Belle exclaimed excitedly.

"Mom I hadn't really had to opportunity to talk to Mal about it yet." Mal was confused and looked to Ben. But Belle spoke up excitedly, "Cotillion is a presenting of the new ladies of the court. It's an old tradition where women the royals favored would be presented as ladies of the society and would thus be allowed to attend all the royal events. It's honestly more of just a party to honor special women of the kingdom. More specifically welcoming significant others of the royals into the society."

Ben felt a little panicked. He hadn't brought this up because he had no idea how Mal was going to react to it. He hadn't figured out the right words to explain it to her just yet and here his mom went using all the wrong language. Thankfully his mom had left out the part about it generally only being for the serious girlfriends' of the Kings. Ben didn't want to put that kind of pressure on Mal.

Mal stared blankly, trying to compute what Belle meant. "Wh-what do I have to do?"

Ben jumped in quick to try to diffuse the situation, "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. It's really just a party. You would be my guest of honor and we dance. Everybody dresses nice and is invited."

"That's not entirely correct son, technically Mal is THE guest of honor," Adam jumped in not getting the hint.

"Dad!" Ben exclaimed, focusing his attention on trying to discretely scold his father for not seeing the scenario playing out.

Mal started nervously tugging on her hair. Trying to discretely bring fresh air to her neck. Completely forgetting about the hickey she was trying to cover. It caught Belle's eye while her husband and son argued. She was taken aback but tried not to let it show. This would have to be something Belle discussed with Adam on how to handle. But not right now.

Mal didn't want to cause Ben's whole family distress. She was scared to be on the spot but it was okay. So she had to dance. She just wouldn't think about all the people staring at her. "It's okay really. Sounds really nice. I'm sure Evie will be ecstatic and want to make us dresses."

Ben walked Mal back to her suite after lunch. He grabbed her hand before she went in, pulling her back to him. He brought his hand up to stroke her cheek. "Hey, I'm sorry I didn't tell you alone and that my parents bombarded you."

"It's okay," Mal pulled him in for what was supposed to be a quick kiss goodbye. But the instant their lips touched the memory of this morning rolled over both their bodies. Mal clutched onto Ben's shirt as she deepened the kiss. He stroked both her arms because he didn't trust his hands to touch her anywhere else and they were still in public. Ben pulled back, knowing he had to head back home.

"I just can't seem to get enough of you now can I?" Ben kissed the top of her head safely before departing back to the castle.

His walk back he touched his lips like they were electric and tried to return his breathing to normal. But he still wore a wide grin walking through the castle doors. Ben was absolutely smitten with Mal, it intensified tenfold now that they had taken their first steps to being intimate. He felt totally out of control and he couldn't find the will to care.

Ben almost ran straight into his dad upon entering the castle's front doors.

"Son we have to talk," Adam burst Ben's happy bubble. What could this possibly be about?

He led him into the study and had him sit.

"Is everything okay?" Ben asked worried something had gone horribly wrong in the kingdom.

"It's come to your mother and I's attention that you might be engaging in sexual intercourse." Adam put it bluntly.

If Ben had a drink he would have spit it out. As it was he was coughing in discomfort. "Dad what?!" Ben was at a loss for words for once. Where had his parents gotten that idea from?!

"Your mother asked me to speak with you about it."

Before Adam could go on Ben cut him off. "Dad, Mal and I are not having sex. Not that it's any of your business! Where did you get this idea from?"

Adam let his temper get the best of him "Benjamin it is absolutely your mother and I's business. You may be king now but you are still a teenager and thus under our supervision as parents. Furthermore you being king is the biggest reason this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. We just had this discussion-"

Ben cut him off again, his temper flaring up as well. "My behavior won't be tolerated?! I do everything you guys ask of me all the time. Heck I've been doing that my entire life. Groomed to rule Auradon. Everyone watching my every move under a microscope. Never allowed to let loose or be free!"

"So is that what this is about? You just feel like being rebellious. Putting marks on Mal so the whole world knows what your up to! Tell me son how exactly is that going to give you more freedom? You think that's going to make the media let up on you?!"

Ben's temper faltered. Even though he hadn't given Mal the hickey on purpose, he hadn't really considered being careful to protect the both of them from having more lenses on their personal life. "I- I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. It wasn't on purpose. I would never do something to put Mal in a situation like that. She already has enough pressure on her."

Seeing Ben soften caused Adam's temper to deflate as well. He leaned forward putting his hands together, elbows resting on his knees. He stared at his son solemnly. "Ben, I know I can't control everything you do at your age. And this isn't really a discussion we've had with you because frankly it never seemed like it needed to be said." The implication of his relationship with Audrey was left unsaid but both knew the meaning of Adam's words.

"I really love her."

"We know you do. Which is why, if you haven't crossed that line already, we strongly disapprove of you doing so. It's complicated son, for a myriad of reasons. First of all Mal is from the Isle-"

Ben stood up anger bursting again. "How could you say that! She's the most amazing person and that doesn't-"

"That is absolutely not what I meant. Sit down and let me finish. Because of that people are watching your relationship extra closely. We all know how wonderful Mal is, but not everyone is going to be so supportive. You're asking people to throw out a lifetime of prejudice and traumas their parents caused. It's not so easy even though it's wrong. You could be putting her reputation on the line with everybody watching your every move. If you don't care about your own reputation maybe you will care about hers."

"The details of our relationship isn't anyone's business."

"No it's not but that doesn't mean it isn't going to be."

Ben was entirely stressed now. He understood everything his father was saying. But having alone time with Mal, experiencing all that they had together so far, it was one of the only times Ben felt freedom and bliss. He loved her so much, he needed to be able to express that. He leaned forward, raking his hand through his hair and tugging.

"Even though your mother and I strongly discourage you continuing on this path. I think it still needs to be said that even if nobody catches you there are a lot of other issues this could cause for you."

Ben sat up looking at his father in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Being intimate with somebody changes your relationship, and not always for the better."

Ben was really confused but trying to seem mature and not let it show. Adam continued, "Its a vulnerable thing, very raw and honest. There needs to be total trust and total communication. Not everything will always go right. It's not a perfect thing. Jealousy and distractedness can arise. It's a very big and adult thing and it changes a lot. You BOTH need to be ready for that. And your mother would kill me if I didn't bring up the obvious. Having sex can lead to pregnancy. If you're adult enough to have sex you have to also be adult enough to be safe about it and accept the possibility of the responsibility of a child. Some of this may be obvious and some of it may not make sense to you right now but you'll think back on this when it does. Your mother and I sincerely hope that you wait and that you consider what I have told you today. As King it is your duty to be dedicated to the people and be a shining example for everyone."

Adam leaned forward patting Ben's knee before getting up to hopefully leave him with his thoughts.

Ben didn't know how to feel or what to do but one thought was clear in his mind. He couldn't tell Mal about this talk. She had enough pressure on her.


	8. SweetRide

In light of recent events, recent events being Ben's parents figuring out what Mal and him have been up to behind closed doors, Ben had to be extra careful to hide it from Mal. He avoided them being alone anywhere in the castle. And his parents had enforced a curfew on him which he blamed on them wanting him to prioritize his kingly duties.

When Mal started to catch on she became convinced it was about what she had told him. He was thinking about how she had been intimate with another guy in the past and he was having second thoughts about her. This made her mood incredibly irritable and she was crying a lot privately, losing sleep.

Today they were going bowling with their friends. And Mal was being snappy with everyone.

"Chill, what has gotten into you Mal," Evie whispered linking arms with her to discretely rub her arm soothingly.

Mal knew she had to tone it down otherwise her private disaster was going to be public knowledge. "Sorry."

While everybody else was keying in their names Ben grappled Mal into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Are you okay," he whispered.

"I'm fine." Mal responded calmly.

Ben was happy to teach Carlos, Jay, Evie, and Mal how to bowl. This was his dream. Giving the kids of the Isle a chance at a normal and happy life. Mal loved seeing all her friends laughing and enjoying themselves, despite them all being horrible at it and getting mostly gutter balls. She was loosening up and laughing a bit.

Ben paid Mal special attention when instructing. He came up behind her and helped her practice the grip and swinging and aiming techniques. Honestly any excuse to be close to her and to be able to touch her. He tried his best not to let it look inappropriate.

Ben stepped back and let Mal try again. Mal ran up and swung the ball down the lane. She managed to knock down all but one this time. Surprise joy overcame her as she spun around throwing her hands up triumphantly. Everybody cheered her on.

"Thank you thank you!" Mal put on a sarcastic bit tossing her hair over her shoulders.

Jay started laughing, "Woah Mal did Evie burn your neck with a curling iron?" Jay knew full well where the mark Mal had just accidentally revealed came from.

Ben and Mal both blushed and looked down. She was irritated Jay called her out.

"Somebody's been up to her wicked ways," Jay teased Mal.

"Alright nothin to see here go back to your bowling," Evie urged the attention off of Mal and everyone went back to bowling.

Ben pulled Mal to him and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I'm sorry Mal. I didn't mean to draw attention to our private life."

"It's not even true. We haven't been up to anything." Mal snapped lowly. Jay's comment pinched a nerve in Mal. Ben had been avoiding her. Ben furrowed his brows at her response but didn't want to cause a scene. So he let her cool off and would talk to her about it later.

Mal was too embarrassed and distraught to do dinner after bowling. So she feigned sick and told everyone she would just go back to the dorms.

Ben insisted on driving her back. Unfortunately they all had taken the limo so it wasn't exactly subtle. The whole drive was really silent. Mal in her head about everything, the anxiety getting the better of her. What if he was taking her back to finally break up with her? Ben was stuck in his head too. Glancing at Mal trying to figure out what was wrong and how he could fix it.

When they arrived at her dorm Mal squeaked out a goodbye and then tried to rush inside. But Ben stopped her. Timidly he asked, "Mal can we get in the back and talk? We have to talk about what's been going on."

Mal knew she couldn't stop him as much as she wanted to. So she got in. Her arms folded over and hugged in tight. She wouldn't cry, she resolved.

Ben gently shut the door and came over to sit next to her. "Mal I know something is wrong but you're going to have to tell me what it is. I'm at a loss here."

That was not what she had expected. Better to rip the bandaid off, "Listen Ben I get it. You don't want to be with me anymore after what I told you about my past. So just get this over with and stop stringing me along."

She might as well have slapped Ben in the face. He was feeling too many emotions and was struggling to respond. "Mal what? That's just not true why would you possibly think that?"

"You won't even touch me anymore. You avoid being alone with me at all costs. I'm not an idiot!" Mal snapped angrily.

"No Mal- that's not it at all!" Now that he knew what the problem was he could fix this. He was desperate to make her understand. But he also didn't want to put the stress and pressure on her by telling her about the talk with his dad. He pulled her into his chest and hugged her tight. "That's so so far from the truth. I'm sorry I made you feel that way."

Ben pulled Mal to him so he could kiss her. He ran his hand through her hair and depended the kiss. When they were both breathless he pulled back. "It's quite the opposite. I can't seem to behave myself around you and I'm fearful of ruining your reputation by accidentally marking you again or getting too carried away somewhere and getting caught."

"Really?" Mal tried her best to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"Of course!" Ben held her face and stroked her cheek before pulling her to kiss him. Mal breathed out heavily into the kiss. Letting all her anxiety wash out of her.

Everything was right with the world again because she was kissing Ben and he was kissing her back.

"Missed you," Ben breathed into Mal's mouth and then pulled her onto his lap by the hips, "so much."

Ben cradled Mal by her hips and then slowly lowered her so she was laying on the long seats. "I'm so sorry I've been neglecting you," Ben's voice was husky and Mal could feel her whole body heat up, "Let me take care of you."

Ben kneeled over Mal and held her hip tight with one hand. Slowly he ghosted his hand down her collarbone to hold her right breast. The minute his fingers left her collarbone his mouth was on it. He was careful to only lick, hyperaware of marking her again. But it seemed to still have the desired effect because Mal was still breathless. Her chest arched up as he pinched and played with her right nipple. The thought occurred to him that the other was being neglected. So he trailed his mouth down to take her nipple in his mouth over her dress. She let out a moan and he could feel his pants tighten. Ben ignored it, this was all about her.

Ben could tell Mal was restless, she was starting to thrash. His grip on her hip tightened trying to anchor her. All the sudden her hands pushed into the seat and she sat herself up halfway. Before Ben could even ask what he had done wrong she was unzipping her dress and pulling it down to reveal her bra. Then she locked eyes with him. The message was crystal clear- take her bra off.

Ben tried not to have too big of a reaction in fear of braking her mood. He didn't want to appear too excited or too nervous. So he glided past familiar territory to get to the clasp. He pulled her hip closer with one hand and then grazed past her breast, thumbing her nipple, on his way to the clasp in the back. He kissed her to distract her from him figuring it out as he brought both hands around. It was tough. Thankfully she spared him the embarrassment of having to accept defeat and reached around to help.

The sound of the snap coming undone felt like it echoed in the limo. Then she was sliding the straps down and tossing the bra to the ground. Before she could get self conscious he brought his mouth back down to kiss her skin. To Ben Mal had the most perfect breasts. They cupped nicely in his hand and her nipples were so small and cute. He was awestruck that she would allow herself to be this open with him. Ben wouldn't take it for granted. He wanted her to feel completely comfortable.

Her eyes instantly shut again as his lips wrapped around her nipple. The skin to skin contact had them both seeing stars. Mal's hips started to wiggle, signaling she needed to be touched down there. That was exactly what Ben had been hoping for. To work her up so that she would allow him to touch her if that's what she wanted. Ben knew Mal hated to be the center of attention when she felt vulnerable in any way. But he was learning that once she got really worked up that was thrown out the window. She allowed herself to just feel and react and have confidence. It was truly beautiful.

Ben moved his left hand down to grip her hip and let his right hand start to drag down her body slowly, so she could stop him, towards her center. His hand wrapped around her thigh and he lowered her back down. Mal loved feeling his muscles work to lower her. Her grip on his biceps tightened.

Ben's hand, slowly again, started to slide up her thigh under her dress. She just parted her legs for him. Ben knew he would never get used to how wanton she allowed herself to be when she was aroused. It was overwhelming in the absolute best way. Here she was opening up to him and trusting him in a way she wasn't able to do in other aspects of their relationship.

"Ben," as she called his name he snapped up to look at her, "dont tease" She let out like it was almost hurting her having him not touch her.

Even though he hadn't fingered someone before Ben had two attributes on his side. One- that he had a wonderful ability to sense how Mal was feeling. And two- that he may have done some research on the web because he didn't want to ask anybody. Ben wanted to be absolutely sure the next time they were alone that he could take care of her and make her feel good. His pride didn't want him to be a fumbling idiot. She deserved the best.

He swiped his index finger over her panties to see how she would react. Mal grabbed him by the dress shirt and pulled him down to kiss her. Ben had to catch himself with the hand that wasn't touching her, bracing himself on the console behind her head.

He mimicked the way her tongue was stroking his mouth with the pad of his thumb against where he hoped her clit was. It was so hard to tell with her underwear in the way but he felt like it would be pushing to take them off of her. Mal was swiveling her hips around which told him he definitely wasn't hitting it.

Mal groaned in his mouth frustrated and reached down to guide his hand inside her underwear. But it was just too difficult at this angle. His hand was twisted at the wrist and he couldn't move much. All he could feel was short light hair. But Ben didn't have to say a thing because Mal instantly realized her mistake.

She lifted her hips up to start to slide her underwear down and off. Ben stared at her in awe. He had to fight himself not to let an 'I love you' slip out, not wanting to pressure her. Mal pulled Ben down so he couldn't stare at her too long. He gravitated back to her neck, licking as his hand travelled back down to touch her bare for the first time.

Ben knew there was no way Mal was just going to let him watch her, or even get a good look at what he was doing down there. So he had to figure it out by touch and listening intently to the noises she was making.

She was so wet his fingers could easily slip around. He'd be lying if he said it didn't make him feel a little bit proud that she was that turned on by him. He felt for her little bundle of nerves and when he hit it she moaned.

"There," she breathed out, eyes closed and chest heaving. He kept working her. Mal's hips were rocking into Ben's hand at a steady pace. She was surging towards her orgasm. When Ben's mouth lowered down from her neck to her breast and he started to suck like he did on her neck when he marked her she burst. Mal's eyes screwed shut and she whispered his name as her hips gave one last hard push into his hand.

Ben moved up to kiss her on the lips. Then reached down to grab her underwear. Mal's arm was thrown over her forehead but she was watching him careful to see what he was doing.

Ben gently was pulling her underwear back on. He caressed her silky legs as he did. Once they were back in place he gathered her up into his arms. Ben was taking care of her. His sweet nature always got to her but in this moment she was so grateful for him.

"You're not getting away that easily," Mal smirked and switched the spark back on. There was no way she was letting him leave this limo until he came too. She couldn't believe the night had started the way it had because she currently felt so lighthearted.

"I wouldn't dare try to escape your clutches," he joked right back, threading his fingers into her hair to pull her close. Mal began to unbutton his shirt and kiss down his chest. When her fingers undid the last button she pushed the shirt open to reveal his whole chest to her. Then switched to unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants.

Ben, needing to hold her, just threaded his fingers into her hair and rubbed his thumbs against her head.

When she accomplished her goal and had him out of his pants she tried to straddle him. But the limo seat wasn't wide enough and she was too close to be able to pump him the right way.

So she slid down to kneel on the floor. Being in a limo meant the ground wasn't that far from the seat. So she wasn't much shorter then Ben sitting on the seat. It wasn't like she was on her knees below him, but the implication was still evident.

They stared at each other for a second then Ben was rubbing her head gently with his thumb, trying to tell her she absolutely did not have to do that.

Mal pushed herself up on Ben's knees to give him a quick kiss of gratitude before she sunk back down.

She didn't need to be giving him head. Just the suggestive nature of her position between his legs was more than enough to drive Ben quickly towards finishing. That and over a week of not being able to be alone with her. Which he had no one to blame but himself for.

Ben's head lolled slowly side to side as she brought him closer to the edge. He looked at her through half lidded eyes. Her other hand was holding steady onto his thigh and her lips curled up into a smirk as she locked eyes with him. When her hand sped up his grip on her hair tightened slightly in reflex as he finished.

Mal did the same thing Ben had just done for her. She leaned over and grabbed tissues from the bar to clean him up. She wanted him to feel the same devotion. The same feeling of being taken care of that he always provided her.

When they were both all buttoned back up. Ben scooped her into his arms and cradled her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered into her hair.

"Why?" Mal stared at him in wonder.

"Because I should have just told you what was going on. I just didn't want to stress you out." He let out a huffed laugh. "But all I did was stress you out. I didn't mean to make you feel like you had anything to be ashamed of. Whatever happened before us has nothing to do with us."

"Let leave it in the past then and not talk about it anymore. Do you want to come inside and watch something?"

Ben helped her out of the limo and held her as he started to walk towards the door, "I wish I could. But curfew calls."

"Ayyyyy, look who just wanted to escape us." Jay joked as the gang rolled back up to the dorms. Evie smacked Jay, clearly she had warned him about teasing them.

Ben gave Mal a sweet kiss before heading back towards the limo to drive home.

The boys jostled inside and Evie discretely bumped Mal's hip. "Somebodies grumpiness just got cured." She winked at her friend and Mal couldn't help but let out a sigh. It was all going to be okay.


	9. HistoryBuff

Mal steeled herself. Taking a deep breath in front of the door. She took one last moment to discretely iron out the wrinkles in the new dress Evie made her with her hands. It probably didn't help because her palms were sweaty. Mal definitely wasn't used to wearing garments that you had to worry about wrinkles. Satin wrinkled, but you know what doesn't- leather. How she wished she had her purple leather jacket right now and her combat boots. She needed the strength for this battle.

Ben reached down and clasped her sweaty hand. Not letting her wiggle out of it. He needed her to know he was solidly there for her. They would get through this together. He definitely didn't want her knowing that he felt just as nervous to see Audrey and her family. But this was part of his kingly duties. To do a tour of the country and pay a visit to all the royal families. They were at Charming castle seeing Chad and Audrey's family in one go.

The steward opened the door for the family and Cinderella's family and Aurora's family all stood politely waiting to greet them. Obviously Chad's family was much more polite to Mal than Audrey's family was. All fake smiles and stabbing stares from the Sleeping Beauty gang. Everybody could sense the awkward but Ben held to Mal fast. He was making a statement. He was there for her.

"Let us begin the tour of the castle shall we," Cinderella led everyone into the hallway. Mal had been told even though they had all been to the Charming castle before this was customary on the royal tour. The Charming's held a lot of the history of Auradon within their walls. As lady of the house it was Cinderella's duty to perform the tour for everyone to appreciate their history.

They stopped at a painting of what looked like a young Ben. But the parents standing next to him weren't his. And the painting looked so old. Mal was squinting her eyes at it trying to figure it out. "When Adam's family fell out of power due to the tragic loss of his parents." Cinderella paused to extend her hand in consolation Adam took it thankfully. It wasn't Ben in the painting, it was his father. "and when the cursed enchantress put his family castle to ruin, Aurora's family took up the mantel to reign over our land."

They made their way over to a painting of young aurora and Phillips's families. "They reigned prosperously for years-"

"Until Mal, I mean Maleficent, cursed my family and sent them all into a long slumber." Audrey jumped ahead of her, unable to miss the chance to take a jab at Mal. Ben squeezed Mal's hand. Everyone was uncomfortable and didn't quite know what to say. Except Audrey's family. They all stared at Mal smugly.

Cinderella was quick to move along. "The Charmings were next to take up the reign during tragic and difficult times. Until that time in which Belle was able to break the curse and the true reign was brought back to our land."

"Do you know what happened next Mal," Chad asked her. He had obviously been promoted by Audrey.

Ben rubbed his thumb over Mal's hand. She struggled knowing an answer was expected, "I -um-"

Cinderella coming to her aid, oblivious to what her son was doing. "It's okay dear. I'm sure Auradon history wasn't exactly a popular class on the isle."

"A girlfriend of the king not knowing our history, we'll just have to have fairy godmother add another class to the curriculum for you." Usually Mal was quick with a comeback but everyone was watching her. She was expected to be a lady of a society she didn't know the rules to. But she knew well enough getting into a bitch fight with Audrey wasn't okay.

Ben desperately wanted to tell Audrey to back off. But knew he couldn't in this scenario. "Thank you Queen Cinderella for your wonderful tour. I always love seeing these paintings. They're inspiring."

"Shall we head to lunch then?" Cinderella began to lead the guests back to the dinning room.

Ben was able to spare some time with Mal when he dropped her off at her dorm after their lunch at Charming castle. His parents most likely gave them space because they felt badly about how uncomfortable the day had gone.

"I'm okay Ben. I'm annoyed but it's all going to be okay," Mal snuggled into Ben on her bed to watch the movie the had put on the TV.

"I just hate feeling like I can't say anything back to Audrey," Ben ran a hand through his hair tugging at in to let out some of his frustration.

"It's really okay Ben," Mal ran her hand down his cheek. And she really meant that. Audrey's nastiness towards her hadn't upset her or tugged at Mal's insecurities. Not this time. In fact it had angered her. And she felt motivated to prove her wrong. But she didn't need Ben to hear about that. He wouldn't approve of her methods.

Ben snuggled her tight to him and rubbed her arm while they half watched the movie. Mostly Ben was just happy to hold her and have time with her. Mal couldn't stop thinking about her spell book under the bed. She was itching to look through it. She was sure there was a speed reading spell in there she could use when they go to see Aladdin and Jasmine. Audrey was not going to have room to say anything anymore. She was going to fit in. Mal would make sure of it.


	10. Fantasy

With the tour in full swing the media had been all over Ben and Mal. The dorms and his castle didn't even seem safe anymore. Obviously the press weren't allowed inside but they basically were outside the doors 24/7. Even when the royal couple was inside the buildings there were articles released speculating what they were doing based on time spent inside, time of day, and who else was there. Ben and Mal both agreed them spending time in her dorm was a no go due to this.

While at the castle Belle and Adam kept them incredibly busy. Adam and Ben spent hours upon hours in the study working on his paperwork and emails and phone calls and whatever else he needed to attend to at home as part of his responsibilities as king. Belle sweeps Mal away to meet with Jane practically the moment she steps through the doors. They also log their fair share of hours talking schedules and starting to plan cotillion until Mali's head is swimming so fast sometimes she feels sick.

If all that wasn't enough their final year at Auradon had started up. Their plates were filled to the max and they were completely overwhelmed. No one more so than Ben. He had no idea how to balance his king duties with schoolwork. Meanwhile all he wanted to do was spend time with Mal. At the very least now they were on the same page about missing each other and the reason very clearly being how chaotic their schedules had become.

Due to all this, for the first time since Ben had started his tour of the kingdom, Mal was actually looking forward to a visit. This was also the first time she legitimately felt prepared. Her speed reading and memory spells had worked perfectly. Evie has sewn her a beautiful dress to honor the customs of Agrabah.

She practically ran when the limo came to pick her up for their trip to visit Aladdin and Jasmine. Evie had to run after her because she forget her dress. Ben pulled her to him when she got in the limo. "Happy to see you in such a good mood Mal." He kissed the top of her head and she just grinned.

Aladdin and Jasmine were by far the nicest royals Mal had met. They had prepared a lunch for just Ben and Mal. Of course the cameras were all over them but on the massive plus side there was a whole chocolate fountain with strawberries. Ben leaned in close feeding her one. "Pretend it's just you and me," he whispered. She reciprocated fake giggling and looking around, "that's kind of impossible." The cameras were right up in their faces. But the whole situation was so comical that they actually couldn't stop laughing.

Mal was in such a playful mood all she wanted to do was pounce on Ben. But of course that wasn't possible with all these camera shoved in their faces. She couldn't even risk whispering to him. But she found all she wanted to do was tease him. Push him to the edge. Mal knew Ben was feeling the same she was about missing their physical relationship, but she still found herself wanting to inflict the desperate feeling onto him.

Mal blinked her eyes slower, ate her strawberries slower and more messily. Then played innocent. Not overtly enough that the cameras could catch it, but enough that Ben could tell. At first he thought there was no way she was doing this on purpose, in front of all the cameras. But the way she giggled and dabbed the loose juices that fell on her chin told him otherwise.

Ben strained trying not to get worked up on camera. The fear of the whole kingdom catching on kept him at bay. When he was back to his room at night he found himself slightly agitated with Mal. Why would she put him on the spot like that? After further reflection he came to the conclusion that she wouldn't. She just missed him and missed being free. She was being playful. Ben knew he needed to loosen up as well. But it was just so difficult. He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and completely alone.

Mal's actions felt like they effected her more than him. When she was back in her room that night after dinner she thought on the day. She had done passable with Aladdin and Jasmine at dinner. Her only mess up had been the food. She wasn't prepared for how spicy it was and ended up spitting some in her napkin. All in all it wasn't a total disaster like all the others had been.

But Mal had utterly worked herself up with her charade at the chocolate fountain. All she could think about was Ben's lips. When she fed him the strawberries. The way he watched her whole display in awe and a touch of lust. Suddenly she was imagining his lips trailing everywhere. It had been way too long since they had been alone. Mal desperately wished Ben would sneak in like he had on their visit with Queen Ariel. But she knew after all that had happened, with the media also staying in Queen Jasmine's palace, there was no way he was risking sneaking through her door.

Mal closed her eyes willing herself to actually feel Ben's hot mouth all over her body. She let her fingers lightly trail the course she wished he was here to take. And she let her mind wander to things she was too afraid to ask of him or push him to in real life. Too scared to let him see all of her. But all that she desperately wanted.

Mal's left fingers pinched her nipple as her right hand trailed down to touch herself over her sleep shorts. Behind her eyelids all she could see were flashes of Ben. His hair tussled over his neck as he leaned in close to lick her lips. His hands grazing her stomach on their way up to hold her breasts. The heat of his breath as he pants close to her. The way his chest looks when she's unbuttoning his shirt.

Mal pulled her shorts off and threw them off the side of the bed. Her legs spread wider to give herself better access and she went back to rubbing her center. Mal imagined Ben trailing kisses down her body to where finger was rubbing her clit, letting his tongue join her. She pictured what his perfect soft hair would feel like between her thighs. What the wet feeling of his mouth would feel like kissing her so intimately. Mal willed herself to believe it was his fingers joining with his tongue to push into her and devour her. Her hips started to lift off the bed slightly as she let the fantasy of Ben consume her until she pushed up hard and came. A quiet strangled, "Ben," passing her lips. She allowed sleep to overtake her snuggled up in this big luxurious bed. She felt like she was floating on a cloud. Mal's sleeping mind wandering to all the places she wanted to go with Ben that she couldn't during the daylight.


	11. Guilt

Ben tries to sigh quietly because he's aware he's in class. The big red B on his history of magic paper is glaring up at him from his hands. Not quite up to his standards. But there just isn't enough time in the day. There's too many phone calls, meetings, and paperwork for running the kingdom. He's trying his best to keep up with all his schoolwork, his responsibilities as king, and Mal but feels like a failure.

Even when him and Mal are snuggled up in the movie room of the castle he can't shut his mind off. Ben's mind is racing a mile a minute thinking about the new tax bills being proposed from different regions of the kingdom.

He stares blankly into the distance until Mal happens to glance up at him from her position cuddled into his chest. He feels her shift and his train of thought is broken. Ben looks down to find Mal smiling up at him completely unaware that he hadn't been here with her. A wave of guilt hit him like a truck. Mal remained unaware.

He leaned down to press his lips to hers, holding her face with the hand that wasn't cuddling her. Ben felt he didn't deserve her. Here she was struggling to adapt to his crazy lifestyle. Trying her hardest to fit in. And he was here thinking about work when he should be focused on her. He finds himself unable to give her all the time she deserves. He wished desperately he could make it up to her. Ben wished he could be worthy of her, times like these he felt like he wasn't.

Ben tried his best to make more time for her in the next week. But every time he carved time out his responsibilities as king seemed to get shoved in its place. He catches her at lunch on Wednesday. She's sitting with Evie, Doug, Carlos, and Jay on the lawn. Laughing and carefree, she looks more relaxed than he's seen her in awhile. More relaxed than Ben's seen her with him. It makes his heart ache because he knows he's the cause of her not being able to be at ease. His crazy life and his responsibilities.

Mal sees Ben from across the lawn and a smile breaks out. She waves him over hoping he can sit with them today. A flood of happiness flows through her as he starts walking over. Everyone gives him a hello but continues on with their conversation, being heated in debate.

"Guys I can do it myself, I don't need any help." Evie dismisses Jay and Carlos.

"Absolutely not Evie it's my turn." Jay states plainly.

Ben watches the exchange with intrigue, what were they arguing about?

"That's not true it's my turn! You did it two weeks ago Jay!" Carlos exclaims.

Doug starts laughing, "How many times must you guys go round and round. I'll be the judge. It's Evie's turn, you guys did it the last two times. Jeez I've never seen anybody fight over laundry before."

Ben cocks his head to the side completely confused, "uh what?"

"They're arguing over who gets to do the group's laundry this go around. This happens every time the laundry piles up." Doug explains.

"Wait a second you guys are arguing over who gets to do the laundry?!" Ben looks shocked then he looks down at Mal for some kind of explanation.

Carlos cuts off any response she might have had. "It smells so good when it's done and feels so soft."

It dawns on Ben they probably didn't have clean clothes or sheets very often, if ever, on the isle. His mood plummets as his guilt skyrockets.

Mal is blushed in embarrassment when he looks down at her and she tries to play it off. "What?"

Mal wants to move on from the moment. She points at the box Ben's been holding, "What's that?"

Ben is jarred from his thoughts on what he had just realized and is also quick to move past it, not wanting Mal to get upset or anxious. "They're strawberries! I brought them for you!"

"Ben that's so sweet." Mal gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"What's the occasion?" Evie asks.

"No occasion. I just wanted to give you something nice." Ben hugs Mal to his side.

"Making us all look bad," Doug grumbles out a joke. Evie is quick to hold his hand and get mushy.

"Nothing could make you look bad you're perfect." Evie gives him a peck on the lips.

"No you are." Doug squeaks out.

Everybody else breaks the moment by bursting out laughing. Ben looks down at Mal. Through his laughter he asks, "Tell me we aren't that bad?"

"Even you guys aren't that bad," Jay interjects, emphasizing the word even. Which only spurs on a new round of laughter from everyone. Evie starts throwing pieces of her bread at all of them.

After lunch, Mal has a free period so Ben decides to walk her back to her dorm before heading to his sword and shields practice period. Her hallway is oddly deserted when they arrive at her door. They both look at each other and suddenly they're inside and shutting the door behind them. Ben is franticly kissing her, tangling his hands in her hair. It has been way too long since they had had the opportunity to be alone together.

"Can you skip practice?" Mal whispers.

Ben struggles with his responsibilities but can't stop kissing her. "I really can't." He groans in frustration breaking the kiss but not letting go of his grip on her body.

She looks down embarrassed and mouths an "oh".

"I'll be late I can be late." Ben rushes out, desperate to have one moment with her where he isn't overcome with guilt. He doesn't give her any chance to get upset before he's thumbing her nipple. Ben needs this. They both need this.

Mal reaches for his belt buckle to undo it. When he realizes what she's doing he's quick to bring her hands back up around his neck. Ben knows they're already playing with borrowed time here and he needs to take care of her. He's already been neglecting her enough there's no way he could be selfish like that.

He doesn't leave her room to feel rejected because he's kissing her so fiercely both their lips start to feel raw. He gently pushes her back so she's against the door and grips her hips, pushing his own against hers.

Then suddenly the door is trying to move behind her. Ben and Mal break apart with a gasp and stumbling backwards letting each other go.

"What the he-" Evie throws open the door with force not knowing what was blocking it. When she sees Ben and Mal's appearance she let's out a small shriek of surprise, which she abruptly cuts off. Both their clothes are wrinkled and knocked out of order. Their lips are wet and pink. Mal is looking down at her feet, her face red hot. Ben is wide eyed and running his hand down his face.

"Evie we-" Ben tries to explain then shuts his mouth. There's no other explanation than the painfully obvious. He rubs the back of his neck not sure what to do or say.

Evie's shocked expression melts into a smirk. "I just left a book here for class." She moves past them to her sewing table to grab it.

Ben turns to Mal and takes her hand to make her look at him. "I have to get to practice okay. I'll see you later." He's willing her to show him any sign that she's okay. Ben knows his time is up. They shouldn't have even let themselves get as carried away from their responsibilities as they had. He gives her a loving kiss on the cheek, thinking she might die if he kissed her on the lips right now. Then he's grabbing his bag he threw on the ground in their haste and backing out the door. He smiles at her for as long as he can on his way out, hoping that she's okay. His guilt it back full force.


	12. WhatstheUse

"What do you think of this one dear?" Belle asked Adam, holding up one of the necklace options for cotillion.

"I can't look dear, Madame is measuring my neck for my suit," Adam chuckled.

"That is right he cannot look." Madame de la Grande Bouche scolded.

Ben got up from where he was sitting waiting to be measured and walked over to his mom.

"Let me help mom." He looked over the necklaces the royal jeweler shipped over for Belle to choose from.

"I think Evie said your neckline is going to be really sparkly. So maybe skip a necklace and do some earrings instead." Ben moved over to look at the earring selection.

Belle stared at this kind and thoughtful young man her son was becoming. "Why don't you pick out something for Mal as well?"

Ben turned to his mom, "Oh I don't know. She's not really one for all this glitz."

Adam chuckled, "Well isn't that a change."

"Adam!" Belle reprimanded her husband for being so crass.

"What! It's just our family in here. It's true, Audrey was a little high maintenance. This is a nice change of pace." Ben tried not to chuckle at his fathers blunt talk of his ex.

Belle tried to steer the conversation away, "How is Mal doing with all this?"

Ben paused and thought for a moment on how he wanted to answer that. "She seems to be doing alright. I know it's been a difficult adjustment for her. I don't think she was thinking about what dating a king meant when we got together." Ben was letting his insecurities slip out in front of his parents. There was no judgement of Mal in his voice saying what he said. It was more he felt so guilty about all this pressure on her. She was handling it so well, sometimes he wished he had her strength.

Adam and Belle shared a look, realizing something about Mal they hadn't before. She was really there for their son. Mal didn't want the crown. It was quite the opposite. She was struggling with it. She just wanted Ben. It warmed Belle's heart. Adam never thought that Mal was like Audrey but it hadn't really occurred to him just how important it was that Mal was going through all of this for Ben.

Belle went over to put a reassuring hand on Ben's arm. "I see a strong young woman who wouldn't be adjusting like this for just anybody. Don't lose sight of that Ben."

Ben smiled thinking about how lucky he was to have Mal. His mom was right. She was going through this for him, adjusting with him. He wanted to do something nice for her. Ben walked over to the earrings picking up a pair he thought Mal might like. They were darker and had jeweled vines dangling on them. "What do you think of these for Mal?"

Belle smiled, "Perfect"

The press and Jane had been hounding them about cotillion all week so the castle walls felt like the only sanctuary.

The incident in Mal's dorm the other day had gotten Ben so worked up. It had been close to two weeks since they had had any significant alone time and Wednesday's heated make out with a forced cool down had enhanced Ben's desperation tenfold.

Since it was right after school and Ben's parents were usually in meetings during 9-5 he thought they would be safe to sneak some alone time in his room. Ben locked the door behind them and pulled Mal close.

"Finally, I've missed you." He held her face in his hands before kissing her. Ben gave Mal a long loving kiss before pulling back.

"I have something for you." He broke from their embrace to walk over to his dresser. "I saw these and thought of you."

He handed her the box with the earrings and Mal accepted it, opening it up cautiously. She gasped when she saw the earrings. "Oh Ben these are beautiful." She stared at them in wonder then looked back up at him. She wanted to say they were too much but knew that wasn't really an issue for Ben, being of the royal family. She settled for asking, "Why?"

"I just like doing nice things for you." Ben said simply. Mal gently put them back down on his dresser so she could fling herself at him. "I've missed you too. So much." She let out breathily.

Ben cupped her cheek and kissed her more passionately. He was wound so tightly and only she could alleviate the hunger. This might have been the fastest he'd ever gotten hard.

Mal walked them back to his big luxurious bed and fell onto it pulling him down on top of her. They scrambled up the bed trying to get more comfortable. Mal hook around Ben's leg and flipped them over so that she was on top. His head hit the pillow and he stared up at her face in awe. He leaned up to rub her cheek with his thumb before dropping his hands down to her hips. Mal lifted up on her knees to start removing Ben's pants. Regardless of what they chose to do next the pants would be in the way. She was wearing a skirt so that wasn't a concern.

Once he kicked his pants off and he leaned up to throw his jacket on the floor, he pulled her back down to him. Ben urged her hips to grind against him. Mal had the desired reaction she groaned and ground her crotch down onto his. Then she did it again. When she opened her eyes they were glowing a bit. He didn't want to upset her so he didn't say a thing about it. He just kept egging her on. Feeling her heat so close he was trying his best not to blow a load. It had just been way too long.

The sound of three loud knocks had Ben's eyes shooting open. They froze and Mal's face read full on panic.

"Benjamin, are you working from your room today instead of the office? We need to go over some more details for cotillion." They could hear Lumiere's voice from outside the door. Not hearing a response from Ben Lumiere tried to open the door but since it was locked it just jiggled.

"Just a second Lumiere!" Ben called out trying his best to sound normal. Mal quick and silent like a cat scrambled off of him and went to quietly hide in the bathroom.

"I can come back later sir." Lumiere obviously hadn't expected the door to be locked in the middle of the day. Ben didn't want to arise suspicion so he scrambled to put his pants back on and open the door.

"Sorry Lumiere I'll be down to the office in a bit. What was it you needed?" Ben definitely looked suspicious. He was slightly sweaty and his hair was tousled. His clothes were out of order. Lumiere was equal parts embarrassed and equal parts suspicious. He casually scanned the room behind Ben. But all he saw was tousled sheets. Then Lumiere's suspicion melted away and he was full on embarrassed.

"I'll meet you down in the office sir."

"I just need a quick shower."

Lumiere turned on his heels and walked away. Ben closed the door again and was breathing heavy from both being intimate with Mal and the whole embarrassing exchange. He locked the door again and went to the bathroom to go get Mal.

She looked just like she did in the dorms, mortified. Ben sighed, why did this keep happening to them. It made him angry but he had to push his feelings aside for Mal.

He gently lifted her chin with his finger to have her meet his gaze. "Hey, it's okay."

"That was mortifying." Mal is still looking everywhere but Ben.

"I'm so sorry. I know how frustrating this all is. I'm trying my best to balance everything I'm just having a difficult time." Ben sighed leaning back against the sink.

Mal met his gaze and her heart melted. "Ben it's going to be okay. I know you have a lot of new responsibilities but you're doing great. How about I make you a picnic date for next Thursday?"

Ben smiled at her and pulled her in for a kiss, "Thank you, that would be great. You're amazing you know that?"

"I have my moments," Mal teased giving Ben a soft kiss, "Now go down there before Lumiere gets suspicious again. I'm going to sneak out and I'll see you at school."

"Evie," Mal called out as she returned to their dorm. She had put on a brave face for Ben but she felt as if her entire world was crumbling around her. She had this nagging fear that she just didn't fit in and all of her efforts thus far had been useless. And now Ben was stressed about it too. It was all too much to handle and she needed her best friend.

Mal heard giggling coming from the room and when she opened the door she saw Evie and Doug cuddled up. They looked really cozy and Mal was embarrassed she had interrupted a private moment.

"Hi Mal," they moved apart slightly, "so sorry we didn't think you were going to be home. We were just popping in a movie. Did you want to join us?"

Mal looked at her best friend and saw how happy she was. She couldn't say anything. She couldn't ruin this for her. She couldn't let her down. So she decided she'd have to swallow this and deal with it on her own. "That's okay I'm just guna grab some books and go study!"

Mal grabbed some books, but mostly to discretely hide her spell book and she left to go find a quiet spot in the woods to study.


	13. Caged

Mal was daydreaming about running wild and getting into mischief with her core four. Handing out apples to all the kids of Auradon to make them let loose. She'd been having a lot of dreams like this. Desperately wanting to claw her way out of the restrictive princess box she was in. But now her dreams were crossing into daytime fantasys. The loud yelling and clicking of cameras in her face finally pulled her out of it. She blinked taking in her surroundings, a little disorientated.

The press was on her like a bunch of rabid pack animals. Where had they all come from. She heard invasive and inappropriate questions wizzing past her and couldn't figure out which one to focus on. All the while trying her best to smile. Mal recalled how embarrassing it was to have this scowling picture of her published in the Auradon News.

"Is your mother still a lizard?" Mal caught that question dead in the face. Before she could open her mouth to respond the crowd was parting for Ben to come through. She noticed he had a half eaten apple in his hand. Her dream flashed for a second then she focused on him coming to stand beside her.

Ben put his arm around her waist, more to secure her because she was feeling overwhelmed. He took charge, confidently taking care of the situation. "We will let you know if and when that particular situation changes."

The press got so excited that someone was actually answering their questions the energy seemed to ramp up. A particularly bold woman shoved her mic in his face and asked, "Did you ever think you'd be with a villain kid?"

Anger flashed in front of Ben's eyes but it wasn't noticeable. He was hurt for Mal, knowing she already felt like she had to change things despite his best efforts to show her he loved her just the way she is. And anger for himself that this woman had the audacity to ask such an inappropriate and rude question. That side won out as he commandingly shut her down, "We're done here."

Thankfully for both of them this time Fairy Godmother swooped in to their rescue! Ben pulled Mal in trying to create an appropriate looking intimate moment with her to reassure her everything was fine. He rubbed his hand down her arm soothingly. Then he leaned in to whisper in her ear, knowing the best way to calm her. "Just pretend we're all alone."

It worked, Ben got a genuine smile from her. She leaned up to whisper back. "What a one track mind you seem to be having lately your highness."

Mal didn't move back from where she had stepped into him so now both his arms were holding her and she placed her hands on his chest. He always seemed to know just the way to calm her down. Their flirtation was interrupted by Fairy Godmother shooing the crowd away. Ben and Mal had to rip their gazes away from each other. Both of them watched the crowd walk away with relief.

Ben started to lean down to kiss her but only got an inch before Fairy Godmother reminded him of her presence. "Mal, Ben."

"Fairy Godmother," they both nodded a thank you as she walked away.

Mal audibly let out her anxiety and Ben chuckled at her. "Don't pay any attention to them."

"Well, that's a lot easier said than done. Right?" Mal searched for any sign dealing with them was just as difficult for him and she wasn't a complete failure.

"I know, I know." Despite Mal's best efforts Ben could see the anxiety rippling off of her. That horribly familiar sensation of guilt was back, twisting his insides into a knot. He just wanted to see her smile and be happy. Ben just wanted to be with her. He got caught up in the thought. "You know, maybe we should do something. We should go somewhere, get away."

Mal was so quick to say yes but their bubble was burst quickly as Ben checked his watch. "I have a council meeting. I'm so late."

"That's okay," Mal didn't know what to say as she was getting emotional whiplash.

Ben leaned in to kiss her quick knowing he had to run, "We'll do it sometime." But before his lips could meet even her cheek she was pulled backwards by Evie. Now they were getting interrupted just kissing, great!

Evie was just as serious as Ben was with the reporters just a minute ago, "If we don't do a fitting for your gown right this minute, you'll be dancing in your bathrobe. Okay?"

At least then they'd get some skin to skin contact Mal thought sarcastically. She reached for him as Evie pulled her away but no such luck. Not even a hand squeeze goodbye was permitted.

Mal was completely uncomfortable in her dress for cotillion but at least Evie seemed happy with it. Evie was so excited about all the crazy events Mal had coming up but Mal just stared wistfully at her leather jacket hung up and forgotten on the wall.

Mal let it slip out without even thinking, "Evie? Do you ever think about what we'd be doing if we were back on the Isle right now?"

Evie chuckled, "Thats funny."

Suddenly Mal's thought was interrupted by the royal news coming on. And once again it was plastered with her and Ben. Mal had to find some humor in the footage from Agrabah. It wasn't her worst performance. Snow White reported, "Six months ago, no one thought King Ben and his girlfriend from the wrong side of the bridge would last."

"Yeah, no kidding," Mal grumbled. Mal continued to watch herself fluster more and more as the footage went on until she remembered she still had more studying to do. She ran over and grabbed her spell book from under the bed for speed reading. She wasn't even trying to hide it from Evie anymore.

Evie looked up from her schedule to watch Mal in disappointment, "I know Mal's secrets of fitting in and Ben wouldn't like it one bit."

Mal ignored Evie and kept flipping through the book. That was the last thing she wanted to hear. But Evie persisted, "Haven't you guys had enough secrets between the two of you already?"

Mal tried to explain herself, "Evie you remember what I was like before I started using my spell book. I mean, I was a complete disaster."

Evie sighed, "Well personally, as your best friend, I strongly believe that this spell book-" Evie leaned over and took the spell boom from Mal's lap "it belongs in the museum with my mirror. Don't give me the face. Put the pout away. You know I'm right."

Mal burst, "You don't ever miss running wild and breaking all the rules?"

Evie scoffed thinking Mal was kidding, "Like stealing and lying an fighting?!"

"Yeah," Mal tried and failed not to sound too excited at the prospect.

"No!"

"What?"

"Why would we? M come here. Look at where we are. We're in Auradon. And we're Auradon girls now." Evie was so excited.

Mal just stared at herself on the screen. Evie's words and the image combined only had her thoughts swimming more. She was so fake. This wasn't her.

"See this is the land of opportunity. We can be whatever we want to be here. So please, let's just leave the past in the past, okay?"

Mal spent the rest of the day wandering around on autopilot. Jay, Evie, and Carlos chatted away about cotillion in between classes but Mal was trapped in her own head. She couldn't stop thinking about her dreams. She felt so suffocated by her own life. It had been building for months but the reality was just hitting her. She tried so hard to change for Ben and she was getting better at it. But she needed to find some way to let lose. Everything was way too constricting, from her inability to have alone time with her boyfriend to the facade she had to put on to fit in with the royals to the clothes she wore.

Jane jarred her out of her train of thought, harassing her for the umpteenth time about cotillion. Mal tried to get out of it, she wasn't in the headspace to deal with whatever this was. "Jane, I would love to. I just have to get to class."

Jane rushed out, stopping Mal from her escape. "You know, just nod if you like it."

Damnit, "okay."

Jane prattled off a bunch of words that didn't even compute as English to Mal. Mal again tried to make it stop. "Honestly Jane whatever y-" Jane cut her off again continuing her ranting.

Mal was so overcome with emotions she felt a surge of magic and could feel her eyes change colors. She closed them trying to calm down and recalled the last thing Jane said. "I say pen toppers." Hopefully that would suffice.

It did, "Yeah. You won't regret it!"

Suddenly Lonnie and Evie were back. Lonnie was gushing, "I can hardly wait to see what your wedding will look like."

Mal was still reeling from fighting her emotions in front of Jane it took her a second to process what Lonnie had said. Then she was in full on panic mode. She couldn't hold it down anymore, "Wait, what?!"

"The royal cotillion is like getting engaged to be engaged to be engaged."

"I knew it!" Evie gushed.

"Everyone knows it," Lonnie said as if it were obvious.

Mal could barely get her life together now, she couldn't even imagine being forced to do this for the rest of her life. She couldn't help it the words just started spilling out like word vomit, "I didn't know it! How come nobody told me that? Is my entire life just planned out in front of me-"

Mal was cut off because suddenly Ben was at her side. "Hi Mal."

All the other girls, so obviously daydreaming about marriage, dreamily greeted Ben. Mal looked over at them angrily hoping they wouldn't say anything about her freak out. Hopefully he didn't hear her.

Ben looked down at Mal and leaned in for a kiss. He'd been doing some daydreaming of his own and was completely missing the signs that Mal was distressed.

Jane pulled him away before he could make contact. Mal was secretly thankful to have a quiet moment to calm herself down. They seemed to be caught up in cotillion planning so Mal started off to class.

Ben looked up disappointed once again he didn't get to give her a proper goodbye. He called after her, "See you later."

After lunch Mal was rushing to her locker to switch books when Ben popped up and surprised her. She was so nervous, hoping he didn't spot her spell book.

"I have a little surprise for you."

"Again. Wow. That's like every day now," Mal let slip out. She didn't mean to sound ungrateful. It was all just too much attention on her and she already had more than enough of that.

Ben decided to joke with her. She seemed so tense, "Every other day. The even days. Because you're even more perfect then I thought."

Mal just let out a forced laugh. She knew he was making fun of Evie and Doug but she was way too focused on him spotting her spell book and trying to act natural. "That is me, I am perfect." She let out sarcastically.

Ben got a little more serious with her. He really wanted her to know the meaning behind these gifts. That he appreciated all she was doing and that she meant a lot to him. "Come on, let me spoil you. You didn't have a lot growing up."

That put her off the wrong way. She couldn't take Ben's pity right now on top of everything else. She didn't need one more thing highlighting their differences, "We managed."

Mal reached in for her books and that's when Ben noticed the spell book. "Hey, didn't you donate that to the museum."

Mal shut her locker and tried to act casual, "Is that still in there?"

She wasn't proud but she reached up to sweep his hair hoping to distract him, "Um I gotta get to class. I really don't wanna be late."

Ben wasn't letting another thing spoil their short moments together not this time. "No, you come this way."

He couldn't wait to show her the surprise he had for her. Ben knew she was feeling cooped up so he got her a moped. Mal was looking up at Ben in confusion so she didn't notice until the very last second. "First off ta da-"

Mal was shocked when her eyes landed on it, "What?!" Her hands flew up to her mouth and Ben chuckled pleased.

"You like it?"

"Ben! Does an Ogre like cheese puffs? This is amazing." She went over to check it out.

"It's purple," Ben hopped the subtle message was clear, that he loved her for her.

Mal felt guilty, "I didn't get you anything."

Ben leaned back against the lockers, "You're taking me on a picnic with all my favorite foods, remember?"

Mal touched his arm flirting, "No that's Thursday."

Ben laughed, "It is Thursday."

Mal blinked at him confused, "No it's not."

"Yes it is." Ben grabbed his phone out to show her.

"No it isn't."

"It is."

"I knew that," Mal tried to recover. She had been so in her own head she completely forgot. More proof she didn't deserve Ben. He had been doing all these nice things for her and she couldn't even remember the one thing she promised him to try to alleviate his stress. Mal felt so self centered.

Ben could see the signs of her starting to panic and desperately didn't want things to turn this way again. He tried to act casual, "I mean, if you don't have it, it's fine."

"No, no, no," Mal rushed out. She switched into lying mode so fast it was like she was slipping on flip flops. "I was fully messing with you. I knew it was Thursday. I have one more thing to bake and then I am all yours."

"What about class?"

"She multitasks," Mal flipped her hair over her shoulder trying to remain casual until she could run off to get this date set up for him.

"She dabbles," Ben joked as she skipped off. "You're the best."

"That's me," Mal called back without even a glance back at him.


	14. Heartbreak

**A/N: Hello anybody who is reading this story! Thanks for reading so far, I hope you're enjoying the story. As you know we're caught up to D2 now and a lot of this may seem repetitive but it seemed weird to skip all of it. There will be some scenes added in but all will comply with cannon and the plans I have for post cotillion in this story I'm super excited about. So my question for you all is what scenes do you want to hear Ben and Mal's inner thoughts? What scenes do you want me to keep in as a part of this story? I look forward to your reviews! Happy reading!**

Mal watched Ben closely as he took his first bite of the d'oeuvres she fed him, trying to see if he could tell she had spelled the food instead of made it. Did spelled food taste different?

"Mmmm, this is the best thing I've ever had."

"So you like it?"

Ben stared at Mal for a second. He wanted to say he loved it but thought better of it. "I more than like it."

Ben stood up to lean in close to Mal teasing her, then he switched and grabbed another d'oeuvres. He popped it into his mouth, "I double like it."

He surveyed the table in absolutely awe. She truly was the best taking all this time to do this for him. "Is that beef ragout"

"Yeah."

"This is amazing."

"Did I surprise you?" Mal searched his face anxiously but Ben wasn't paying attention to anything but the food.

"Oh, yeah, you surprised me. This is every single dish Mrs. Potts made for my parents. What'd it take you? Three days?" Ben was looking at her now. Wanting her to truly understand how much he appreciated her being his rock in all this despite how it was affecting her.

"You know, don't even ask me." Mal chuckled.

Ben leaned forward and grabbed Mal's hand, "Well it means a lot that you stopped and did all this for me. Especially with all the craziness you've been put through."

She looked down guilty but he had her looking up again, smitten by his words. "I missed you."

Ben stroked her cheek lovingly ,"We don't get much time to be just us anymore."

"I know," Mal reached for Ben's face as well but realized he had some food in the corner of his mouth. She chuckled swiping at it with her finger.

"You can't take me anywhere right," Ben recalled their first date and had them both genuinely laughing for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Do you have a- do you have a napkin or something?"

"I do! I packed some." Mal reached down for the picnic basket but then realized it wasn't on the floor but on the table.

Ben reached over to grab what looked like a napkin peaking out from the basket on the table. "Oh there it is."

Mal panicked, the spell book was in there. "Oh I can grab it."

Mal watched in horror as Ben pulled her spell book out of the basket. "What's this?"

She tried to recover after gasping for a second, "I actually threw that in there super last minute in case it rained."

But it was too late. Ben was already flipping through the book looking at the pages she had marked. Mal's entire world was finally imploding and all she could do was watch.

"Speed reading spell. Blonde hair spell. Cooking spell." Ben looked up at Mal, willing all this to be a bad dream. But one look at her told him it wasn't. She really had betrayed him like this. His heart felt so heavy. Here he was being so worried about her. Feeling so guilty about not being able to handle his own responsibilities. Ben thought they were in this together but she was cheating. Worse than cheating, she was lying to him about cheating. Ben had never been angry with Mal before but all the suppressed feelings from months were starting to bubble up. "And I was giving you props for fitting in so well. For doing your best!"

Mal was so desperate and so overcome with emotions she tried to spell Ben to forget. "Take back this moment that has passed. Return it- reverse it-"

Ben couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing. His whole world was falling apart. He had spent all this time tip toeing around Mal's feelings thinking she was trying so hard and he was the one failing. It had all been a lie. Ben jumped up, his hurt fueling his rage. "Are you trying to spell me right now?!"

"It has been so hard for me!" Mal tried to defend herself.

Ben exploded, "Yeah some things are hard! Do you think learning to be King has been easy for me?!"

"No-"

Ben cut her off again, his vulnerability peaking through the anger. "I thought we were doing this together."

Mal got up trying desperately to fix it, "Ben, we are in this together."

"But we're not Mal. We're not. You've been keeping secrets and lying to me. I thought we were done with that." Ben was thinking about all that they had shared together, was it all a lie? "This isn't the isle of the lost Mal."

Mal felt as if she had been slapped in the face, "Yeah, believe me, I know that."

Ben needed Mal to fix this. To say something that didn't mean their whole relationship had been a lie. "Then why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm not one of those pretty pink princesses Ben. I'm not one of those ladies of the court. I'm a big fake, okay. I'm fake. This is fake." Mal grabbed her book from across the table as Ben stared at her gobsmacked. "Take this feast this sumptuous meal, return it back to what is real."

The whole meal turned into a single peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Mal was hurt and defeated and angry. But mostly she was tired. She was so tired of this facade. She didn't like herself anymore and she wasn't happy. She didn't want to admit that because she wanted so desperately to be with Ben. But this was the reality. It didn't work. "This is who I really am."

She walked away. Ben tried to stop her but she shook him off. Ben was hurt and confused and didn't know how to feel or what to do.

He spent the rest of his day trying to sort through his feelings while going through mindless paperwork.

Ben realized he had to talk to Mal. What she did to him wasn't right. But he was starting to see clearer why she did it. He was always so busy and never had time for her. She probably felt more alone than he had realized. They weren't communicating. He was too afraid to set her off but not being more assertive and making her communicate had only done that exactly.

Ben was happy when Evie walked through the door of his office. He was hoping he could talk to her about what had happened and how to fix it. But Evie crushed that dream with one simple sentence, "Mal's gone back to the isle."

Ben heart sank to the depths. Evie walked over and handed him a note and his ring. It was from Mal. He scanned the letter not really processing the words. She was sorry. She didn't feel like she belonged. She was suffocated. Ben's heart broke. He felt sick to his stomach.

"This is my fault. This is my fault I blew it. She's been under so much pressure lately and instead of being understanding I just went all beast on her." Ben slammed his hands on his desk. He has desperate. His whole body stung with fiery pain. Ben couldn't accept this. He needed to fix it.

"I have to go there and beg for her to come back."

Evie tried to reason with him but he was beyond reasoning, "Ben you'll never find her. You need to know the isle and how it works and... you have to take me with you."

Ben spun around, "Yes-"

He saw Evie's face and he remembered. He knew that the isle was a nightmare for her. She was scared of it. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. She's my best friend." Evie started pacing and planning, "and we'll bring the boys too, because there's safety in numbers and none of us is really too popular over there right now."

Ben didn't know how to express his gratitude, "Thank you."

"But let's get two things straight. You have to promise me that I won't get stuck there again."

"I promise," Ben told her sincerely.

"And there's no way you're going looking like that."


	15. WhatDoYouWantFromMe

When Dizzy spins Mal around to look at herself in the mirror she feels like she can breathe again for the first time in months. Finally the girl staring back at her is her. Through her magenta bangs she sees badass and rotten, ready to take on the world. Not some anxious stumbling fake blonde princess.

Mal paid Dizzy with what was left of her Auradon money. The bitter thought that she didn't need it anymore flitted through her head. Dizzy deserved it for all her hard work. As Dizzy pranced over to put her newly earned money away Mal came face to face with a dark figure from her past.

Harry Hook was currently focused on stealing from Dizzy which gave Mal a moment. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she felt sick looking at him. A bunch of confused feelings and memories started rumbling around in her stomach. Mal used to play Harry and bend him to her will. She was disgusted to remember sometimes that involved her touching and teasing him until he gave her what she wanted. He would give up plans, hiding place, get Mal and her gang out of binds, and so much more. It was pathetic how easy he was to manipulate. Which enraged Uma to no end and Mal just thought that was hilarious.

Her mother had always taught her love and intimacy were weakness. So she held power over Harry but never let him touch her or get close to her. Mal was glad she hadn't. Ben had taught her what intimacy really was. Being intimate had become reserved someone special, it meant something. It was no longer something Mal could just engage in with anybody. It was no longer a tool Mal used to hold power over the guy standing before her to manipulate him in their stupid gang wars. Her heart ached but she had to remain strong. No room for weakness on the isle.

If Mal wanted to survive here again it was time for her to dominate him in a different way. Show him who's boss by belittling him. She needed her territory back. "Still running errands for Uma or do you actually get to keep what you steel?"

Harry spun on her with a knowing glint in his eye that made her nauseous. "Well, well, well, what a nice surprise."

But she had to keep up her mean mug. This she knew how to do. She wouldn't let her emotions betray her ever again. She was strong. She was good at this. If Mal knew one thing it was how to make people feel small in the shadow of her leadership. "Hi Harry."

"Just wait until Uma hears you're back." Hook eyed her up slowly. "She's never going to give you back your old territory."

"Oh well that's okay. Because I will be taking it." Mal thrived on sarcasm. It felt good to be back.

"I could hurt you." Harry reached out and ran his hook through Mal's hair. She no longer felt sick she felt mad. He was going to have to learn that's not the way things were going to work anymore. Map grabbed his hook and yanked it away from her. Then she took her gum out and stuck it on the pointy end. "Not without her permission I bet."

Harry leaned back and grabbed the gum off with his teeth staring at her with heat. Mal rolled her eyes as he walked off. He would learn she wasn't giving him even her table scraps anymore.

When Mal got back to her hideout she stared at the disarray it had become in her and her mother's absence. At least nobody had the brains to try to take it over. At least she had a place to sleep tonight while she plotted to take back the rest of what was hers.

"Normally I would plot with Evie but she isn't here," Mal spoke to her mom as if she wasn't a tiny lizard in a tank. Mal sighed. She hated to admit it but she missed her gang. Things just didn't feel the same without them. And she hated that she missed Ben.

Mal grabbed her spray paints and go to work. Graffiti always helped clear her head. Before she even realized it she was painted Carlos and Jay on the wall. Then Evie next to herself.

Ben stared at Mal's place in wonder. He had so many questions. Every detail he encountered he wanted to know more. Was she happy growing up here? Then he rounded a corner and spotted her. His heart lept at the sight of her. Even though her hair was different than when he last saw her he immediately knew it was her. Her petite yet strong frame. That signature purple hair. All the studs and the dye on her clothes. He felt as if he hadn't seen her in months. And it dawned on him that he hadn't. This was the real her. And he had gone on letting her believe this wasn't what he wanted. He could see that now. But that was the furthest thing from the truth. This was the girl he had fallen in love with. This was the girl he wanted to be with. She was strong, beautiful, fierce, fun, and so much more. Ben knew he had to fix this.

"At least I don't see a picture of me with horns and a pitchfork." Mal spun around startled. "Ben?"

She almost thought it was a dream. He had snuck in so quietly but how did she not notice?

He started to advance towards her but Mal held up her hands abruptly to stop him. All Ben wanted to do was scoop her up in his arms but he listened to her nonverbal request and halted. "Mal I'm so sorry about our fight. It was all my fault and I-" Ben couldn't find the words. Everything didn't feel grand enough to express how he felt. He lifted his ring up in a gesture to her, "Please come home."

Mal put down her spray can and found the courage to walk towards him. "Ben I am home."

Ben felt like a fumbling idiot for the first time in his life. He didn't know what to say or how to act. "I brought the limo. It's a sweet ride." Ben wanted to kick himself. He had meant to make light but he just ended up sounding like an ass.

Mal looked like she was about to cry. Mal knew it was over but Ben hadn't quite realized that's what was happening yet. "I don't fit in Ben. I really gave it my best shot. And if you think that I could change, I think you're wrong."

Ben was starting to realize she seriously was breaking up with him. He hadn't allowed himself to believe that was even a possibility but he couldn't ignore it now. He wished he had more time. He wished he was the guy she deserved. But most of all Ben wished he had been able to make her understand he loved her just the way she was. He felt desperate, "Then I'll change. I'll skip school, have more fun. You know, I'll blow off some more responsibilities-"

Mal cut him off. This was exactly why she left. She was who she was and she didn't want to poison Auradon, poison him with that. "No, no. See, I'm such a terrible influence. It's only a matter of time before I do something so messed up that not only does the kingdom turn on me, but they turn on you-"

Ben cut her off this time, stepping in and invading her personal space. "Don't quit us Mal." He grabbed her hand and put his ring in it. Mal's breath caught having him so close again. This is exactly why she didn't want him getting close to her. It made this so much more painful. All she wanted to do was kiss him and let him take her away. But she couldn't. Mal tried that already and the cold hard truth was that it didn't work.

Ben stared into her eyes, "People love you. I love you. Don't you love me?" Ben had always thought she did love him she just wasn't ready to say it. But now that his world was crumbling he wasn't so sure that was true anymore.

Mal fought with all her might not to let the tears bubbling up inside her spill out. She put his ring back in his hand and pushed it back to him. "I have to take myself out of the picture. Because it's what's best for and it's what's best for Auradon."

Ben reached out to pull her in for a kiss. He just couldn't accept this. "Mal no please." But Mal just stepped backwards out of his embrace. "Ben... I can't do this."

Every inch of her body yearned to lean in a kiss him. While all the water in her body threatened to spill out of her eyes. She had to turn her back on him and walk away. "You should go, Ben. Ben please go, please leave."


	16. LiesandPain

Ben's cheek stung as he woke up. He quickly took note of the hard and dirty ground below him, the dark room was probably a basement of some sort. And he was tied up to a pole behind his back and at his feet. Ben struggled to think back to the last thing he remembered. Emotional pain joined his physical pain as he recalled that he had lost Mal. He needed space to handle his emotions privately and that's when he had been knocked over the head. But Ben wasn't alone down here.

"Finally," his captor was squatting down in front of him. He had a thick accent and from the looks of his outfit Ben thought it safe to guess this was Captain Hook's kid. "It took ye forever to wake up. I had to slap yah."

"What do you want?" Ben was in no mood to deal with this at all. He wasn't going to play games, he just wanted him to get to the point.

"Why yer majesty it's not regal to be rude. Yer not even goin ta ask what yer subjects name is?" Harry was enjoying toying with Ben. He wanted to know what it was about this preppy little prince that Mal could possibly find so intriguing.

Ben just stared at him. He wasn't playing along. So Harry continued anyway, not wanting to get caught up in the details. "I'm Harry Hook. Son of the greatest pirate who ever lived and first mate ta the most fearsome gang on the Isle."

Ben just ignoring Harry and that only angered him. Harry leaned forward and used his hook to force Ben to look at him. "What is it about you?"

Ben was confused by his statement so he broke his silence and spoke, "What do you mean?" He hoped Harry was distracted enough for Ben to desperately test the strength of his restraints, hoping to find a weak point.

Harry reached over Ben and slammed his hook down by his hand to stop his movements. They were face to face now and Hook spoke menacingly, "Don't even think about it. You can't escape and yer girlfriend isn't coming ta save you."

"She's not my girlfriend anymore," Ben let slip out bitterly.

Hook was still close up in Ben's face so Ben got a front row to just how wide of a grin Harry's smile broke out into. He pushed himself away from Ben and stood up to give a wolf of a laugh. "Ooo now isn't that a interesting revelation. Weren't able to please her yer majesty? Honestly, I'm not surprised. I was trying ta figure out how she could possibly be satisfied by such a boring specimen of man."

Ben looked at Harry sideways. What exactly was he getting at? The way he emphasized words like 'please' and 'satisfied' made anger boil up in Ben that he would dare make implications about Mal. It was showing. The way his nostrils flared. You could see in his eyes his brain working a mile a minute to try to wrap his head around what Hook was going on about. Ben grit his teeth and spoke low and stern, "Don't talk about her like that."

"Ooo oh oh, I've struck a nerve and some truth. Don't you worry about Mal, I'll take back over from here." Hook's meaning was clear and it all the sudden struck Ben that this was the guy Mal was talking about from her past.

Rage and pain like Ben had never experienced in his life rippled through his chest. A growl ripped out of him as he started to violently fight against his restraints.

"Hey Harry Uma wanted me to come down and see what all the commotion is-," a blonde boy came bustling downtown the far stairs. When he caught sight of Ben he stopped dead, "Woah, is he guna beast out? My dad said it was not a pretty sight when his dad did."

"Don't worry Gus. He doesn't have it in him." Harry laughed moving closer to taunt him again, "and that's why yer ex girlfriend is going to be mine again."

Gus started laughing and Harry and Ben both stopped death staring at each other to look over at him. "What? Mal? She was only using you to get information from Uma. I'm a dummy and even I know that."

Ben took some breaths and calmed himself down. While Hook exploded, going after Gus. Harry had been lying, what Mal told Ben was the truth. Hook was just trying to get at him. Ben had to keep a clear head. He couldn't let the pain of losing Mal stop him from protecting Auradon. He had to find a way out of this before it was too late.


	17. Rough

When Ben awoke the next morning he was pulled in his restraints upstairs by Hook. When his eyes adjusted to the sunlight he realized he was on a pirate ship. Harry roughly pushed him over to a mast and tied his restraints to it. "We're trading ye for Fairy Godmothers wand. And when Mal gives it to us we're going ta use it to invade yer precious Auradon."

Ben knew fighting with Hook would do nothing so he remained silent and looked around him as Harry wandered off. Ben tried his best to find a weak spot or a way out of this. Mal wouldn't really give them the wand would she? Did she hate Auradon that much? He looked around the ship to see dozens of a pirate crew, and not just on the boat but all over the doc. Escape was useless unless he could get himself out of these binds and they weren't moving an inch.

Harry jumped back down to harass Ben some more. It brought him so much joy. It might just be his new favorite pastime. Harry put his hook to Ben's throat, "How's it feel ta be the King now, eh?" The answer was 'helpless and horrible' but Ben's lips wouldn't move an inch. He just glared at Hook and Hook laughed.

"Give it a rest Harry. Give it a rest. We don't want damaged goods." A girl with long turquoise hair ordered Harry out of the way and came to sit in front of Ben. This must be Uma.

Harry clearly wasn't happy with being dismissed, through gritted teeth "You said I could hook him."

"I said at noon." In the face of all of this Ben couldn't help but be amused that Harry wasn't as in charge as he pretended to be. Harry got back in his face and threw down a pocket watch. "Twenty more minutes."

Ben looked at the watch, this guy clearly wasn't the smartest. "That says 11:30."

"You better hope your girlfriend comes through," Uma snapped the attention back onto herself.

Ben could see Harry smirking evil behind her, "But she's not my girlfriend anymore."

Ben looked down as Harry chuckled. Uma looked at him like she was trying to figure something out, "Leave us alone Harry."

"Nineteen minutes to go now," Harry clapped Ben's chest.

"Go," Uma was impatient with Harry's childish antics.

Ben thought he might be able to talk his way out of this with Uma. "I get that you don't deserve this."

Uma let out a laugh, "This. This island is a prison thanks to your father. And don't pretend to look out for me because no one's looking out for me. It's just me." Uma looked off and Ben saw vulnerability in the gaze.

"So this isn't your mom's plan? Isn't that her necklace?"

Uma scoffed, "My mom doesn't care about me either. Well, not unless she needs someone for the night shift."

"Ouch," Ben thought he might be able to get under her skin and she might respect that more than his usual compassion.

"I don't need your pity," Uma rolled her eyes.

A thought crossed Ben's mind. If Mal used flattery to get her way with Harry maybe he could do the same with Uma. "No you certainly don't. You're very resourceful. I don't see you tied up."

Uma chuckled and got up to approach him, "Alright, so let's trash talk Mal."

"I'd rather talk about you," Ben was surprised at himself, maybe Evie had taught him a thing or two yesterday.

"Mmm funny and a gentleman. I really hope I don't have to feed you to the fishes."

"Oh you don't. Set me free and we'll go back together." Ben thought he just might have her.

Uma turned back on him seeming amused by the idea then leaned in putting her hand behind his head, "Oh so now I get an invite. Gee I wonder why. When you brought Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay to Auradon, that's as mad as I've ever been in my life. And trust me, I've been plenty mad."

That struck Ben and his whole act melted away. He had never considered the pain his decision could have caused. "I never thought of it like that before, that I could've hurt the people I didn't pick. The plan was to start with four kids and then bring more people over. I guess I was busy being king. That sounds lame. I'm so sorry. You're a leader Uma. So am I. Come to Auradon and be part of the solution."

Uma looked Ben up and down, "Me? Part of your solution. Nah! I don't need you. I'm guna get there on my own. Harry! Let's see what this puppy can do." Ben didn't like the way Uma was rubbing her necklace. He knew that that necklace was a love spell.

But before Uma could do anything Gus shouted from the crowd nest, "They're here."

All three whipped their heads towards the docks to see Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and to Ben's surprise Lonnie, walking towards the boat. But Ben doesn't have time to think on it before Harry starts roughly pushing him towards the plank on the other side of the boat.


	18. MaketheTrade

**A/N: Thank you so much to my first review! I'm just so glad someone is enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Happy reading!**

Uma's smile spreads wide as she see Mal walking up to the bridge. She hasn't been able to experience the joy of taunting Mal in what has felt like ages. But Mal is too concentrated on Ben standing on the edge of the plank to even care. They lock eyes for the first time since the break up. She sees so much betrayal and hurt in his eyes and it breaks her heart all over again. But Mal knows she doesn't have time for that if she wants to get everyone out of here unharmed. So she keeps her mug on and turns back to Uma.

"I'll throw him overboard and let him swim with killer sharks. You either hand over the wand or he'll be ripped apart." Uma threatened.

Mal knew Uma had the power but she also knew that underneath all that fake confidence was a whiny little girl who was trying to prove her worth. Mal could leverage those insecurities to throw Uma off guard, "Now let's all just be smart. Although for you that must be hard. You'll get your wand, no one has to come to any harm."

Harry was enjoying toying with Ben. Spinning him on the edge of the plank and dangling him over. But he decided to take it up the ultimate notch and leave him there to go tease Mal in front of him.

"Release him now and we can go our separate ways. Unless you wanna deal with me and the VKs?" Mal crossed her arms defensively as Harry approached them.

Harry cut Uma off and got up in Mal's personal space threatening Ben. She kept her death glare on him not letting him know he was getting to her. Harry again ran his hook through her hair, grazing her cheek and getting way too close for comfort. Mal could feel Jay tense behind her and step up ready for backup. From the plank Ben was fighting against his restraints. He was sickened watching Hook get so close to Mal. He could see in her face she was really uncomfortable. Girlfriend or not he had the urge to want to save her from this creep and fought harder against his restraints.

Uma had had enough of Hook's nonsense and pulled him back. "Harry we get it. Chill." But Harry didn't depart until blowing Mal a farewell teasing kiss.

Jay pulled Mal back so they could retrieve the fake wand and get his over with. But as Mal was approaching Uma with it Ben shouted out to her. Mal stopped dead in her tracks. Her jaw went slack. This was the first time they had spoken or she had heard his voice since the breakup and it completely took her out of her task at hand. She whipped her head over to him pleading with her not to do this and to figure out a better solution. But Mal knew what Ben didn't know. This wand was a trick and regardless, there is no compromising with villains.

Uma laughed at his pleas and turned back to Mal demanding the wand. Ben couldn't believe what he was watching. Was Mal really going to give Uma the wand? He thought she understood that that's not what he would want. Auradon's safety had to come first.

Uma was satisfied with Mal's show of the wand so Ben was roughly pushed over for the girls to make the trade. He fell to his knees in front of Mal. They were in each other space again after Mal had broken his heart and the tension was so thick you could cut the air with a knife. Ben was in pain and so angry with the entire situation.

Mal grabbed his arm and pulled him up the second Harry cut him loose. But all Ben could focus on was the wand. Mal was pushing his chest as hard as she could to shove him back and away from Uma.

Jay had to help Mal keep him back as Uma raised her wand to the sky to test it out. When she realized it was a fake she screamed and snapped the wand in half, "You do not get to win every time!"

Carlos laid down smoke bomb cover for them as Mal pushed Ben one last time trying to get him to snap out of his shock and move. They had to get out of here. But it only bought them a little bit of time. The pirates were upon them and they had no choice but to fight. Mal hoped Ben's sword and shield practice had prepared him for this.


	19. Realization

"Hey, everything Carlos said is true. You have to give Ben a chance to love you for you. And if he doesn't then who needs him. I think you've spent this whole time being afraid to show him you and shoving yourself into a cramped corner," Evie was putting Mal together for Cotillion and finishing their girl talk from earlier. Carlos had actually been super helpful and had a lot of amazing and insightful things to say.

"I know Evie, but I was just so scared. What if he doesn't love the real me? I'm mischievous. I'm wild. I'm strange. I'm not good for Auradon. I can't be that person he needs." Mal started crying.

"You're lucky I haven't started your makeup yet and I'm still putting you in the dress or id kill you for crying off what will be my most impeccable work. Now listen to me. What Ben needs is your honesty. He needs a partner who is going to be true to herself and be honest with him. You have to stop running away from your issues it only makes them worse. You need to woman up and start communicating your feelings or you're always going to feel this way. Always! Like a bottle of tears just waiting for the lid to burst off. Trust me. Trust jay and Carlos. We're your family and we will take care of you. We always have and that won't stop now. And give Ben the chance to earn the trust to take care of you as well. Then maybe the world won't feel so heavy. Stop trying to be what you're not and be what you are. So what if it isn't what people need, it's what you need."

Mal took a deep breath and let Evie do her makeup. She was actually starting to feel the weight lift from her chest. She was terrified to let go but maybe Evie was right. Maybe that's what she had truly needed all along. Mal was strong. At the very least she had to try to be vulnerable for Evie.

"Now I'm going to get myself ready over at Doug's. I will be back in one hour and we'll go over to the boat together. Let's go to Carlos's room so you don't have to wait it out alone."

Ben stood at the edge of the pier looking at the lit up boat. It looked magical and beautiful. He instantly wished Mal was by his side and was struck with pain again.

"Ben," He heard a timid voice and spun around to see Evie all done up in her ballgown. "Belle told me I'd find you here."

"Just taking some time with my thoughts before tonight." Ben explained unsure as to why Evie was here.

"Ben I think you have Mal all wrong." Evie started.

"What do you mean," Ben was confused. Did Mal send Evie to talk to him? Did she want to get back together? Ben wasn't sure what he thought of that after everything but his heart yearned for her still.

"I know I shouldn't be getting involved. Mal would kill me if she knew I was here. But I feel so guilty. I've been so wrapped up in my own life I completely missed what was going on. The advice I've given her today is something I should have said to her a long time ago. Then maybe we could have avoided all of this."

"Mal is capable of being responsible for her own actions Evie. This isn't your fault."

"I don't think either of us realized until it was too late the enormity of Mal's identity crisis and how much pain and confusion she was holding inside all alone."

"Damnit Evie I was there! I tried to help her but she wouldn't let me in," Ben slammed his fists down on the bar and leaned his head down trying not to cry.

Evie placed her hand rubbing Ben's back. She sympathized with how hard this was for him as well. "As someone who has helped Mal deal with her feelings for years I'm going to leave you with a piece of advice. If you and Mal want to work this out you can. But what Mal needs is for you to not baby her. She needs you to be assertive, to not let her run away. Your confidence will transfer over to her. Mal is proud and Mal tries to be strong all the time. If you put your foot down then she won't have room to be embarrassed about opening up to you. You can't tip toe around her feelings and play the nice guy all the time. That doesn't work. Not with Mal. She needs tough love and a kick in the butt sometimes."

Ben was digesting what Evie had told him and a lot of things were starting to click for him.

"I sincerely hope I didn't make a mistake in trusting you with this. But for what it's worth I truly believed what you and Mal had was true love. It's not too late to fix this if you both want to." Evie gave Ben a hug before walking off and leaving him with his thoughts.

Ben leaned back down over the ledge replaying everything that had happened with a little bit of a clearer head. Evie's words had helped him take his emotions out of the situation and really think on what went wrong. Unfortunately Ben didn't have a lot of time to think as faint entrancing singing started out low and a warm glow made its way towards him.


	20. ComingHome

Mal takes a deep breath waiting for Lumiere to call her name. She can do this. She rounds the corner slowly and it's just as terrifying as she could have imagined, at the top of a staircase with everyone staring at her. But then she locks eyes with Evie in the front row center. Evie's smile and support give her the strength she needs to press on.

Mal only makes it down a couple of stairs on her own before Ben's dad is there to help her down the rest. "Hey, Ben is on his way. And you look beautiful."

"Oh thank you," Mal hadn't thought about how her freak out would have effected not just Ben, but those close to him. Did they know what had happened? She suspected not considering Ben had ran right after her to the isle.

Belle grabbed her hands, "I know we were shocked at first, but you are exactly what Ben needs."

"And lucky for me she doesn't go by first impressions." Adam joked.

Mal felt so guilty. She had had all this support right in front of her eyes. How had she not been able to see all of this clearly. She had to make this right.

Mal turned and there Evie was by her side. More support she had been ignoring. She was so lucky to have all these people and resolved to not take them for granted and be selfish with her feelings anymore.

"How are you?" Evie asked as she walked her back to where everyone was standing.

Mal thought about facing Ben. About all that was at stake, "I sort of feel like I'm going to throw up."

"Okay. That's okay. Look, we're right here with you okay?" Evie looked into Mal's eyes. She wanted to show her she was solidly there for her.

Trumpets sounded announcing Ben had arrived. Mal's whole body was shaking with emotion. Then he turned the corner, looking so handsome in his nice suit. They locked eyes. Mal felt comforted to see he didn't look at her with anger or pain like he had been. Maybe there was hope she could fix this for the both of them.

Evie nudged Mal out of her trance, "Go get him."

Mal walked up to meet Ben and he bowed to her, "Mal, I wish I had time to explain." Mal knit her brows in confusion. That was the last thing she had expected him to say to her.

Ben turned to face the staircase and when Mal looked up she saw Uma all dressed up. She suddenly felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. She could feel her emotions overwhelming her. Of all the horrible nightmares she could have imagined would go down on this boat, this she could have never expected.

But the nightmare was only getting worse. Ben went up to offer Uma his hand and bent down to kiss it. That's when Mal saw his ring. On Uma's finger. Tears were threatening to spill out. Mal had never been more confused or in more gut wrenching pain than she felt right now.

It felt like a bomb had gone off. Her ears were ringing and she felt like she might faint. She could only gape at them and catch glimpses of what they were saying.

Mal looked back and forth at them gasping. "Ben, did you go back for her?" she let out softly, willing him to explain what her brain just couldn't process.

The more Uma talked the faster Mal's pain was making way for anger. Uma grabbed her hand and Mal immediately yanked it back, "Listen Mal, I just really wanted to thank you. I do. For everything. Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Don't you see Mal? You were right. You knew that we weren't meant to be together. That's why you never told me you loved me. Thank you!" Ben cut through Mal's heart like a knife. He really believed she didn't love him? Had never loved him?

Uma and Ben moved away to start dancing and Evie caught Mal so she didn't fall over in shock. Carlos grabbed Mal's other hand. He was vibrating with anger.

Jay couldn't take it any more. He knew if he didn't get them out of here he was seriously going to hurt Ben. He couldn't believe they could have all been so wrong about him. Jay grabbed Mal from Evie and started to lead them up the stairs to leave.

Belle and Adana grabbed Mal on her way out, "Mal. Honey we're so sorry. We had no idea. I'm going to talk to him."

That was it. Mal was crying. She turned to rush upstairs but Jane cut her off this time. "Lumiere, unveil the gift! They need to see it."

Everybody turned to face the other way. Lumiere rushed to announce, "And now, the unveiling of King Ben's masterpiece, designed especially for his lady."

Mal stared at the newly revealed stained glass in awe. Her confusion and pain were replaced for a second with love. There she was in all her glory. Bright purple flowing hair, glowing green eyes, and a beautiful and badass purple dress. "Ben did that?"

"Yeah he did." Evie smiled at her friend, filled with emotion.

"Oh Evie, Ben's known who I was all along." Mal grabbed Evie's hand and found herself being mesmerized and pulled towards the stained glass. How could she possibly have missed all of this the whole time?

"He loved the real you Mal."

"A true love, yeah."

"Told you," Carlos chimes in.

Mal smiled for the first time in what felt like months.

Uma jarred Mal our of her thoughts with a scream, "Cover that back up!"

Mal's head whipped towards Uma. She studied her closely. Then studied Ben. He was spelled!

"Fairy Godmother, bring down the barrier." Ben requested.

Mal could fix this. She had to snap him out of it. She took one last look at the stained glass and then stepped towards him, "Ben."

"Look at me," Uma kept trying to talk over Mal but Mal just kept her focus on Ben. If she pretended they were the only two people in the universe and didn't lose eye contact maybe she could snap him out of it.

"Ben, look at me. Ben, I never told you that I loved you because I thought that I wasn't good enough." Ben was locked into what Mal was saying, regardless of how big Uma's panicking had gotten. She had to keep going. This was her chance. She had to be honest with him. "And I thought that it was only a matter of time before you realized that yourself. But Ben, that's me."

Ben turned to look at the stained glass. She felt like she had to keep saying his name, keeping him focused and bringing him back to her. "I'm part Isle and part Auradon. And Ben, you've always known who we were and who we can be. Ben, I know what love feels like now. Ben of course I love you. Ben I've always loved you."

The emotion rushed through her. It did feel good to be honest and let everything out. Mal was overcome and she reached forward grabbing Ben's face and kissing him. His lips back on hers felt like coming home. She had missed every aspect of kissing him and wanted to memorize every small detail. She wanted to focus only on the taste of his lips and the way kissing him made her heart feel.

Ben pulled back and when he opened his eyes Mal could see her Ben was back. His lips curled up into a smile and her name passed them. He leaned forward touching their foreheads and noses. He didn't want to lose touch with her for a second now that he had her back and in his arms.

But their moment shattered into a million pieces with Uma running to try to grab the wand from Fairy Godmother. When Uma fails at that she runs to the edge of the boat, followed by everyone.

"Do not let your pride get in the way of something that you really want." Mal could see herself reflected in Uma's eyes as everyone stared on anxiously waiting to see what Uma would do next. But Uma didn't choose the same path. Instead she turned and jumped over the ledge of the boat.

The water began to bubble and rise like a tornado, looming over the boat until it broke on top of them. Ben tried to shield Mal but it was no use. In the wake of the wave was a hint octopus version of Uma. She whipped her tentacles at the boat causing people to fall back and scramble out of the way.

Mal looked around at the terrified faces of her classmates and friends. Her eyes landed on Ben who she could tell was working a mile a minute trying to figure out what to do. Mal felt overwhelmed and overcome. She could feel her eyes start to glow. It was more intense this time than anything she had experienced before.

Ben called her name concerned and she locked eyes with him. But whatever was happening to her she could stop it. The warmth of her magic radiated her whole body and suddenly she was a massive dragon flying above the boat. Her body was moving instinctively and with one singular motivation, to protect.

Ben was shocked. He had no idea that Mal could do that. And he was worried watching Uma and Mal fight each other in their animalistic forms. Ben didn't think he'd ever felt this helpless in his life. Mal could get hurt. His people we panicked and they could get hurt. Uma could get hurt. And all for what. He had to end this.

Ben was equal parts frustrated and determined. He threw his crown and coat off and took a running swan dive into the water. He tried to appeal to both of them. "Mal hold on. Stop! Back down!"

Uma laughed in his face, "What're you guna do Ben? Splash me?"

"That's enough. It's gotta stop. This isn't the answer. The fighting has got to stop. Nobody wins this way. We have to listen and respect each other. It won't be easy. But let's be brave enough to try. Uma I know you want what's best for the isle. Help me make a difference." Ben held out his hand. Mal snarled at Uma daring her to try to make a move. To try to hurt Ben. But Uma just looked sadly at them both and dropped Ben's ring in his hand before disappearing under the waves.


	21. ImSorry

They were lucky this was mostly a dance. Ben didn't know what he would've done if it wasn't because he absolutely refused to let go of Mal now that she was back in his arms. He of course knew they had a lot to talk about. But tonight had been heavy enough. And she was smiling. A warm big smile that was most importantly real. They had a right to dance with their friends and enjoy themselves.

Mal was secretly happy when the music changed to a slower song just so she could press more of herself against him and be held tighter by him. Mal rested her head Ben's chest and sighed. "Say it again." Ben spoke softly into her hair.

She looked up at him knowing exactly what he wanted from her. She looked into his eyes with no hesitation as they swayed to the music, "I love you."

Ben let out a sigh. "I'm so sorry I ever made you doubt that. I'm so sorry for everything. I promise I'm going to try my best to be open and honest with you from now on. I want to fix this."

Ben brought their clasped right hands to his heart and continued to sway with her. "I'm sorry too. I was so wrapped up in my own head I couldn't figure out how to help you. And I was too busy to give you the time you really deserve to feel secure. I never meant to make you feel like I wanted anyone but who you truly are."

Mal pressed her lips to Ben to stop him. This was on her. But she didn't want to argue about that. Ben grabbed her face with both his hands and kissed her back like he'd never kiss her again. They completely stopped dancing but he didn't care what anyone else thought. Besides, it was the end of the night and most people had gone below to their rooms to bed already.

Mal pulled back but left their foreheads connected. She caressed his nose with her own. "I missed you."

"I had no idea how I was ever going to get over you. I didn't want to believe it all wasn't real."

"It was real and it is real. But speaking of that we have to get you some love spell protection. That's 0 for two Benny Boy." Mal teased.

Ben laughed but then turned serious with her, "You know I don't have an issue with your magic. I just hated feeling like you were sneaking around and spelling me without my permission."

"I know. I promise you I will never ever do that to you again."

Ben sighed, "I love you."

Mal looked in his eyes. She wanted to be pointed and clear and she never wanted him to doubt it again, "I love you."

"Alright alright you two break it up. Leave room for Fairy Godmother." Jay teased.

"I'm really glad you were just spelled because Carlos and I were seriously thinking we might have to kill you. And we quite like it here in Auradon."

"And our freedom too." Carlos pipped up glasping Ben on the shoulder.

"I don't think that would've been necessary boys. As we all learned tonight Mal can barbecue anyone who steps out of line herself now," Evie laughed.

"Did you know you could do that," Ben asked.

"No actually. I had no idea what was happening to me. I just knew I wanted to protect everyone," Mal laughed and then yawned.

"I'm sure you're tired after everything and it's getting late. Let me walk you back to your room Mal," Ben squeezed her hand.

Mal nodded, she was really tired. She had been so anxious these past few months she felt like she hadn't truly slept in ages. Now that she felt more herself it was like all the tired was hitting her at once.

Ben and Mal hugged their friends goodnight before heading down into the boat.

"Have a good night," Jay teased, his voice singing with implication.

Mal didn't even turn around, she just lifted her hand up with her middle finger raised at him as they walked away. Ben laughed, hugging her to his side.

Evie's whispered watching them disappear, "Our girl is back."


	22. SpaceBetween

As they started to walk to where the rooms were laid out below the ship Mal asked, "Where's you room?"

Ben looked flush, "Um-"

Mal was quick to cut him off, embarrassed herself by how that came out. "No sorry I didn't mean it like that. I just-"

Mal stopped. She could feel her bad habits boiling up. She was scared to open up about her feelings and be vulnerable. Ben gently lifted her chin to look at him and looked at her with support.

Mal took a deep breath. Here was where she proved to him she meant it. She really wanted to fix this and be honest with him. "I missed you. Everything was so painful and conflicting and difficult for me as I'm sure it was for you. Being able to be close with you and laugh with you and tell you I love you tonight meant everything. But I'm scared to go to bed and be alone with my thoughts again. And I just plain don't want to be away from you now that I have you back."

Ben's eyes looked like they were welling up with emotion. It meant the world to him that she was finally being open with him. Ben made a hard decision in his head, throwing caution to the wind. If she was going to ditch her old habits then so was he. He clasped onto her hand more firmly and turned and started walking them in the opposite direction.

"Ben where are we going?" Mal whispered to him as he rushed them along. They stopped in front of a large door on the opposite end of the boat from everyone else. Lumiere was standing in front of the door as security.

"Lue," Ben addressed him.

Lumiere looked at Ben and at Mal standing behind him. She was blushing and looking away, 'what was Ben doing?'

Lumiere gave Ben a happy grin and mimed sealing his lips and throwing away the key. Then he bowed to Ben and turned on his heels to disappear into the room next door.

"You're staying with me tonight," Ben was practicing that assertiveness Evie has advised him. But he was still him so he added, "If you want to."

Mal glanced at the door Lumiere had disappeared behind.

"Lumiere is not going to assume anything. He is like family and like an uncle to me. He would never say a word to anyone and he always has my back."

Mal looked back at Ben and grinned going into teasing mode, "Who are you? And what have you done with King Benjamin."

Ben turned to sneak them into his room and shut the door behind them. "Evie may have taught me a thing or two about being a bad boy. How am I doing?"

Mal let out a loud laugh. Ben launched forward to cover her mouth so they don't get caught. "I thought you were supposed to be good at being sneaky Ms. leader of the fearsome four."

Mal looked at Ben for a moment to gauge his reaction, "You're right. I'm going to put a silencing spell on the room okay?"

Ben nodded at her, appreciative she was including him in her decision to use magic. When Mal was done she turned back to him, "There!"

Ben gathered her back in his arms, deciding they'd been disconnected for far too long. It felt nice just to hold her again. He looked at her beautiful purple hair and her brilliant smile and felt like he was falling in love with her all over again.

He leaned down to give her a loving kiss.

Of course being intimate with Ben again had been flirting through Mal's thoughts since their kiss at the end of the party. But now that they were alone she let herself really feel it. Mal deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue along his lips. She reached up to run her fingers into his hair and accidentally knocked the crown, having forgotten it was there. She grabbed it before it fell and broke their kiss to laugh. Ben reached out to have her hand it to him so he could put it down and take off his coat.

Ben wanted to be rational. He knew they should really talk more and not just jump back into this. But he also was just overcome with happiness that she loved him and that she was his again. His whole body was yearning for her. He just wanted to be as close to her as possible and never stop kissing her.

She seemed to have the same feelings because when he turned back to her she was already on him, fiercely kissing him. His hands found their place at her hips. As he tightened his grip, she pushed her hips forward more to press their bodies together best she could with her giant ball gown on.

Ben was cursing all those layers of tulle though because he was starting to get worked up. It had been way too long and with all their pent up emotions he could sense they were both just itching for release. Mal lowered her mouth to start licking at his neck, "I missed you so much." She whispered with heat between her open mouthed kisses.

Ben knew he had to say something before the sexual fog overtook them both. "God I missed you. You have no idea how much. But-"

Ben trailed off as Mal started playing with the buttons on his vest, unrelenting in her assault on his neck. He tried again but it come out really breathless, "But baby we can't have sex."

Mal halted and he could feel Mal tense and her fight or flight kick in. He rubbed her cheek with his thumb and guided her face up to his. "I want to. I want you so much. Hearing you tell me you love me has me feeling so elated I just desperately want to express that to you. But I also don't want our first time to be tied to anything else. I want it to be it's own special moment. Not changed at all by anything that's happened. Does that make sense?"

Mal took a deep breath and calmed her anxiety down. "Yes it absolutely does." But she still wanted him. Did he still want her? Mal tried to remember what Evie had said. She had to be open and vulnerable. She couldn't let her fear of rejection allow her to retreat into herself.

"But I still want you," Mal put her cards on the table so to speak, rubbing her hands on his chest.

Ben's breath hitched. If he had thought Mal was overwhelming when they had been intimate before he was definitely a goner now. Now that Mal was being herself again, the confidence of feeling comfortable in her own shoes had her acting much more naughty.

Ben ran the pads of his fingers across Mal's collarbone to sweep her hair off of her neck, "As my Lady commands."

Ben leaned down to kiss and lick at Mal's neck and she let out a moan. She adopts a vice grip on his biceps to hold herself steady from the onslaught of emotions. Ben backs them up until her back hits a wall so he has leverage to continue ravishing her.

Mal's fingers work faster to unbutton his vest and push it off. Their clothes are still a little damp from the water the boat took on so Mal can kind of see the outline of Ben's muscles through his white button down.

She locks eyes with him, "I love you Ben."

"I'll never get tired of you saying that," Ben rested just his forehead on hers for a moment before ducking down to capture her lips again.

Mal worked his shirt buttons as well continuing her quest for bare skin contact. Ben looked like a dream with his hair all tousled, his shirt opened to reveal his bare chest, and his pant line knocked slightly off center from them roughly making out.

When Ben was distracted taking his shirt the rest of the way off and discarding it, Mal's wicked little fingers went straight to unbutton his pants.

Ben grabbed her wrist gently but securely, "No way my love." He pined her wrists on either side of her head against the wall and leaned in to her. "This is about you trusting me remember?"

Mal was really turned on by this new assertive Ben. Where had this come from? She challenged him, "I thought this was about us missing and loving each other."

Ben chuckled, "You're right it is. But if we're going to be intimate again we're doing things differently this time. When and only when you're ready to really trust me then we can proceed."

Mal smirked. It almost sounded like he was talking about some diplomatic issue. "I love you and I trust you."

Ben grinned, "Alright then as absolutely beautiful as you look in this gorgeous gown, all this tulle is just in the way."

Mal bucked against Ben signaling to him she needed him to let go of her wrists. She turned slowly looking over her shoulder and sweeping her hair out of the way so Ben could undo the laces.

With all his air of confidence Ben was a little nervous and this definitely looked complicated. "Uh Mal, did Evie give you an instruction manual?"

Mal groaned in frustration. Evie had assumed she would be the one helping Mal out of her contraption of a dress tonight. "I'm just going to vanish the ribbons and it should slide right off."

Ben's eyes widened and his pants tightened a touch more. That was kind of hot. And suddenly the ribbons just disappeared and the dress did start to slowly slide off of Mal's body on its own.

Ben watched as it revealed more and more skin of her back and then her black lace panties as it pooled around her feet.

Ben rubbed the sides of her arms not wanting her to feel uncomfortable or cold without contact. She leaned back against his chest and rested her head back against his shoulder. "Not that i am complaining at all, but what's with the underwear? Were you planning on seducing me tonight Lady Mal?"

Mal looked up at him and shrugged, "This definitely wasn't planned I just always wear underwear like that."

Now that Mal was acting more her true self and felt more comfortable around Ben, he was starting to learn he was most definitely in over his head with this woman. But he absolutely loved it.

Ben slowly turned her in his arms so he could embrace her properly. He didn't even glance down at her breast or all the bare skin. There would be time for appreciating that soon. Right now he just wanted to make her feel loved and taken care of. Ben stared lovingly into her eyes and then surprised her by lifting her up into his arms and walking her over to the bed.

He sat her down gently on the bed and then climbed on. As he crawled towards her Mal laid back making room for him. He propped himself up on his side and used his free hand to rub Mal's arm up and down. She reached over and ran her hands all over his chest and arms, she had missed this.

He started to pull the pins gently out of her hair to let it down freely. She laid back when he was done and ran her hands through her hair, massaging her scalp from where all the pins had been poking her all night.

Ben stared at her in awe, laid down with her hair faning out all around her. She looked like a vision. And she looked so free and comfortable. Mal had never been able to really open up or let Ben see. She had always hid herself with intimacy or blankets or her own clothes while they were together like this. "I love you, you are so beautiful."

Mal looked up at him with a quirky grin, "I love you come here."

Ben rolled over covering her body with his own. He propped himself up on his forearms so as not to put all his weight on her. She crunched up slightly to reach him for a kiss, inpatient to devour him again.

With each kiss they seemed to get more and more frantic. All of their fear and pain from the breakup and what happened beforehand and finally the relief of working this out had their emotions whipped up into a frenzy.

"You can't ever do that to me again," Ben was desperate between kisses.

"I promise," Mal whispered reverently.

"Say it again," Ben said into her mouth as their lips were locked.

She knew what he needed to hear. She was emotional realizing all the pain she had caused him and everything he had went though emotionally because of her, "I love you."

Ben started to kiss his way down Mal's naked torso. She was breathing heavily. It felt like all her fantasies of him were being made real. Mal was surprised and overwhelmed to find that in all the ways she opened up to him and been vulnerable tonight, she actually felt good. She felt closer to him. Mal felt safe and she felt free. It wasn't the fear she had always held onto.

Which is why when he reached her panty line with his tongue and paused for the first time to look up at her she didn't feel anxiety at all. She knew exactly where he was headed and she felt desperate for it.

Mal reached down and ran her fingers into his hair smiling at him. Ben hooked his fingers into the panties and slowly started to slide them down her legs and threw them off the side of the bed.

He didn't go straight for her center. He kissed and licked along her thighs first. Mal didn't know what to do with her hands so she threw them up and grabbed the pillow behind her. Her body seeming to react to him entirely of its own volition.

Then he finally swiped his tongue on the front of her core for the first time. Mal never could have dreamed up that feeling. She let out a whimper then tried to cut it off.

"Don't hold back. I can't see your face I need to hear your reaction," Ben told her, she bit her lip and nodded.

Ben went back to what he was doing. She had once told him she wanted them to feel it out and that's exactly what he was doing. Letting the feelings overwhelm him and take over.

Mal's hips were squirming about so Ben held onto them with his hands to ground her while he worked her core, lapping up all the juices she released for him.

She spread her legs a little bit wider to give him better access. In response he nudged his shoulders and arms under them to throw her legs over his shoulders. That's what did it. Mal felt him hit her clit with his tongue and she cried out. Ben tried not to smile into her, it felt good to hear that.

He moved one hand over to slide a finger inside her and join his mouth in working her to the edge. She was panting so heavily he thought she might be close.

As they both got dragged further and further into the haze it began to feel almost like they were making out. Mal's temperature felt like it was rising and when she felt Ben moan against her that was it. Her hips charged up off the bed and her head was thrown back. Mal moaned loudly before falling back down, her whole body instantly relaxed against the bed.

She watched Ben crawl up the bed towards her shirtless but still wearing his pants from the night. Mal leaned up on her elbows to meet him for a kiss then pushed herself up to kneeling with him.

She held his face and stared into his eyes, "I love you. You're amazing."

She added, "I hope that wasn't a part of Evie's bad boy lessons."

Ben and Mal both laughed. He embraced her in a big hug. Mal gave open mouthed wet kisses to his chest, making it impossible for Ben to catch his breath. Without looking she slid her fingers down to undo his pants.

"Mal," Ben breathed out. It was like he was trying to warn her of something but it all got lost in the feeling. Mal got his pants undone and started to push them down. Ben had to take them the rest of the way off himself.

This was the first time they were naked together and it was extremely overwhelming for both of them. They kneeled facing each other, touching everything they could reach and breathing heavily.

"We're still not having sex," Ben could barely get out.

"I know," Mal replied.

"No that was me telling myself." Ben huffed out a small laugh.

Mal giggled and reached down to grasp him, "Let me take you mind off it then."

Ben let out a quiet growl, "Thats doing the opposite you know."

"Not for long," Mal smirked and used her other hand to catch him off guard and push him down onto the bed.

Mal liked being on the opposite side of what she had just experienced with a Ben. She mimicked his movements by crawling over him to kiss him. She was very careful not to press her whole body into his. There was a very real possibility if their lower halves met bare they may not be able to stop themselves.

Then she started to lick and suck her way down his body. Ben tried to meet her eyes to be sure she definitely wanted to do this. She just smirked at him and kept going. Ben was focusing on trying to control his breathing as her tongue reached his hip bones.

Ben didn't know how long he was going to last but he wasn't going to say that to her. He just needed to focus on lasting as long as he could. Which wasn't going to be a very easy task with the sight of her brilliant purple hair between his legs and her smooth bare skin.

Mal looked down at his dick feeling determined. Only one way to figure this out, dive in head first. Mal licked her lips and then lowered down to lick him. He twitched involuntarily and moaned. She felt encouraged so she wrapped her lips around the tip. She could tell Ben was tensing so she pulled off of him to look up.

He didn't look in pain though. Ben was looking down at her with a wild and desperate look in his eyes. Mal felt powerful. But this was a different kind of power than she had ever experienced. She felt the power of the knowledge about how to make the man she loved feel such intense feelings. It started a hunger. Like she would now constantly crave making him feel this way.

Mal took as much as she could comfortably into her mouth and Ben groaned loudly following by his breathing turning ragged. She lick up his length inside her mouth, his reactions egging her on. She tried to move her mouth in the rhythm he liked for hand jobs but it wasn't sustainable. So she wrapped her lips and started to just lick and suck.

Mal could feel him twitching and he moaned out her name in a clear warning. But she decided to ignore him. She was determined. She kept sucking and he immediately started to pulse and cum in her mouth. She was surprised by just how much it turned her on.

Mal slowly released him from her mouth and Ben instantly was grabbing for her to pull her up to him. They laid on their sides with their faces close. Ben holding her loosely but again avoiding their whole bodies from touching.

Ben tried to even out his breathing. "I love you so much."

Mal smiles wide at him ,"That was so amazing and so special to me. I love you too."

Ben shot up in bed and looked down at Mal who was a little alarmed by his suddenly movement, "Come on. Let me clean you up and get you comfy. I can share my pjs from my overnight bag."

Mal leaned up as well smiling big at him and took his face in her hands, "I love you so much. I can't wait to start this new adventure with you."

Later that night Mal felt the most peaceful she'd ever felt. She was surrounded by Ben. His t shirt that she worse as pajamas smelt like him and she was all cuddled up with him falling asleep. This was true magic.

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**A/N Thank you for reading my story! This is actually my first completely finished fic which I am so proud of. The sequel is called "Queen from the Isle" and it's now up!**


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